Government Promotes Military Savings Amid 'Martial Law Crisis'...Criticized for "In This Situation"

Promotion of 'Jangbyeong Naeil Junbi Jeokgeum' on SNS
"Every soldier must apply" urged
"Are you sane in this situation?"...Netizens fiercely criticize

Amid the turmoil in Korean society following President Yoon Suk-yeol's sudden declaration of martial law, the government sparked controversy by promoting a savings product available to young people serving in the military.

On the afternoon of the 4th, the Government of the Republic of Korea posted a promotional video for the "Jangbyeong Naeil Junbi Jeokgeum" (Soldiers' Tomorrow Preparation Savings) on its official social media accounts. Along with the video, they wrote, "We prepared this to make the steps of young people fulfilling their national defense duties toward society more secure," and introduced it as "This is the 'Jangbyeong Naeil Junbi Jeokgeum,' a savings product that allows you to accumulate a large sum during your service period, with the saved money growing more than twice." They further explained, "Based on the Army, if you save 400,000 won monthly for 18 months, you can accumulate a total of 14.68 million won. Especially next year, it will get better. The monthly deposit and government support limit will increase to 550,000 won," urging, "Any soldier fulfilling military service obligations should definitely apply."

On the night of the 3rd when President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law, an image of a martial law soldier and Ahn Gwi-ryeong, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea. YouTube channel 'JTBC News'

However, this post was met with backlash as being inappropriate during a chaotic time following the declaration of martial law. Earlier, President Yoon had held an emergency national address around 10:28 p.m. on the 3rd to announce the martial law. Consequently, martial law troops gathered at the National Assembly and attempted to enter the main building around midnight. During this process, Ahn Gwi-ryeong, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, grabbed a rifle held by one of the martial law soldiers and shouted, "Aren't you ashamed?"

Netizens who saw the promotional video criticized the decision without considering the situation, saying things like, "Are you sane to post such promotional material at this time?" "Who is this military even for?" and "It's so shameless, I have no words."

Meanwhile, on the afternoon of the 4th, the six opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea gathered at the National Assembly's legislative affairs office in Yeouido, Seoul, to submit an impeachment motion against President Yoon. The submitted impeachment motion reportedly stated that "President Yoon declared martial law, which is fundamentally invalid, violating the Constitution and laws despite not meeting any of the constitutional requirements for martial law."