Yoon's Claim "Emergency Martial Law Inevitable" Sparks Online Outrage
Most Respond They Cannot Accept the Statement
"Crazy", "Delusional", "Who Would Believe This"
On the morning of the 12th, citizens at Seoul Station are watching President Yoon Suk-yeol's address on TV. Photo by Yonhap News
President Yoon Suk-yeol's announcement on the 12th that the declaration of martial law was inevitable due to the tyranny of the major opposition party was immediately met with a flood of critical keywords against him on X (formerly Twitter) real-time search. Netizens mostly expressed disbelief in the president's statement, saying, "No matter the reason, the declaration of martial law is unacceptable."
At 9:42 a.m. that day, President Yoon pointed out the political attacks of the opposition party during his national address and suggested the necessity of martial law. He stated, "It was to counter the parliamentary dictatorship of the major opposition party, which, wielding the power of the majority, committed legislative violence and was solely obsessed with self-protection. I judged that there was no other way, and this was the president's constitutional decision and exercise of executive power. How could this be considered rebellion?" He claimed that the declaration of martial law was a lawful measure. He continued, "The president's exercise of the power to declare martial law is an executive act not subject to judicial review, like the exercise of pardon or diplomatic powers," and criticized the opposition party, saying, "They are wildly dancing with knives, claiming that the declaration of martial law constitutes treason."
On the 12th, immediately after President Yoon Seok-yeol's national address, numerous keywords criticizing President Yoon appeared in the real-time search trends on X (formerly Twitter). X
However, most netizens who saw the national address expressed disbelief in President Yoon's statement. On X that morning, real-time search terms included 'Yoon Suk-yeol iXX,' 'crazy XX,' 'far-right YouTuber,' 'mental XX,' 'psychiatric hospital,' 'paranoia,' and 'delusional symptoms.' Netizens reacted strongly, saying things like, "Did the far-right YouTubers really watch fake news and start a rebellion?" "Does he even know what he's saying right now?" "Then why was the ruling party leader being arrested? It doesn't add up." "Who is this supposed to convince?" "This is treating the people like mental XX." "So, is he saying this was the right thing to do?" "Did he drink again today?" "What did I just hear?" "Protecting the people? Have some conscience." "National address or not, why isn't he being arrested?" "Do you know how much economic damage this country is suffering?" "Life is hard. Step down quickly."
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