Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, appealed on the 14th, saying, "The fate of the Republic of Korea depends on the choices of each member of the National Assembly," and urged, "By supporting the impeachment, please show the world that Korea's democracy is strong and steadfast."
On the same day, during the explanatory presentation of the impeachment proposal against President Yoon Seok-yeol held at the National Assembly, Floor Leader Park emphasized that the experience of Gwangju in May 1980 saved Korean democracy in December 2024. He labeled President Yoon as the "leader of the rebellion" and stated that "normal performance of duties is impossible."
![[Full Text] Park Chandae: "2024 Korea owes a debt to 1980 Gwangju... Yoon is Korea's biggest risk"](https://cphoto.asiae.co.kr/listimglink/1/2024121416303751882_1734161437.jpg)
He mentioned the similarities between Martial Law Decree No. 10 in May 1980 and the decree issued in December 2024, saying, "Even in the isolated situation 44 years ago, the courage of the citizens of Gwangju who faced the martial law troops at the risk of their lives, and the democracy they tried to protect, were the driving forces that moved us," and added, "The past helped the present, and the dead saved the living. The Republic of Korea, and Korean democracy, owe a great debt to Gwangju."
The following is the full text of the explanatory presentation.
[Floor Leader Park Chan-dae, Explanation of the Presidential Impeachment Proposal]
Respected citizens!
Speaker Woo Won-shik, senior and fellow members of the National Assembly!
I am Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.
At 22:30 on December 3, 2024, the Constitution of the Republic of Korea was violated. The heart of democracy stopped beating. However, our citizens did not miss the golden time. They rushed to the National Assembly and stood bare-handed to block the martial law troops' vehicles. They protested against the police who blocked the National Assembly and helped lawmakers and their aides enter the National Assembly.
I express my respect and gratitude to all who performed CPR to revive the heart of democracy. You are the protagonists who saved democracy and protected the Republic of Korea.
Han Kang, a Nobel Prize-winning author, while preparing
"Can the past help the present?" "Can the dead save the living?"
Having experienced the emergency martial law rebellion on December 3, I want to answer "Yes" to the question "Can the past help the present?" because May 1980 saved December 2024.
At 23:00 on December 3, 2024, the Martial Law Command announced Proclamation No. 1.
The contents of Proclamation No. 1 are as follows.
“To protect liberal democracy from the threat of anti-state forces operating within the Republic of Korea aiming to overthrow the system, and to ensure the safety of the people, the following is proclaimed throughout the Republic of Korea from 23:00 on December 3, 2024.
1. All political activities including the activities of the National Assembly, local councils, political parties, political associations, assemblies, and demonstrations are prohibited.
2. Any acts denying or attempting to overthrow the liberal democratic system, as well as fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false incitement, are prohibited.
3. All media and publications are subject to control by the Martial Law Command.
4. Strikes, work slowdowns, and assemblies that incite social disorder are prohibited.
5. All medical personnel, including residents on strike or who have left medical sites, must return to their duties within 48 hours and work diligently; violations will be punished under martial law.
6. Law-abiding citizens, excluding anti-state and system-overthrowing forces, will be accommodated to minimize inconvenience in daily life.
Violators of the above proclamation may be arrested, detained, and searched without a warrant under Article 9 (Special Measures by Martial Law Commander) of the Martial Law Act and punished under Article 14 (Penalties) of the same Act.”
A proclamation strikingly similar to this existed 44 years ago.
On the night of May 17, 1980, the Martial Law Command announced seven detailed measures through Proclamation No. 10.
“a. All political activities are suspended, and all indoor and outdoor assemblies and demonstrations for political purposes are prohibited. Non-political indoor and outdoor assemblies must be reported. Exceptions are made for ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and purely religious events, but political speeches are strictly prohibited.
b. Media, publications, reporting, and broadcasting must undergo prior censorship.
c. All universities (including junior colleges) are temporarily closed.
d. Any unauthorized workplace absences, work slowdowns, and strikes are prohibited.
e. Fabrication and dissemination of rumors are prohibited. Even if not rumors, acts such as 1) insulting or defaming former or current heads of state, 2) using North Korean claims and terms or inciting, and 3) making inflammatory speeches unrelated to the purpose at public gatherings and disturbing order are strictly forbidden.
f. Freedom of daily life and normal economic activities of the people are guaranteed.
g. Freedom of entry and exit of foreigners and domestic travel activities are maximally guaranteed.
Violators of this proclamation will be arrested, detained, and searched without a warrant and severely punished.”
The proclamations of May 1980 and December 2024 are like twins.
Only the fabrication of rumors has been replaced by fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false incitement; political activities are banned, media and publications are controlled, assemblies, strikes, and work slowdowns are prohibited, and violators are threatened with punishment.
When I heard the news of the emergency martial law declaration on December 3, Gwangju in 1980 came to mind. At that time, the martial law troops arrested, detained, and imprisoned thousands of Gwangju citizens under the pretext of violating martial law proclamations. They even committed massacres. However, the media under the control of the martial law troops did not report a single word about the tragedy in Gwangju. Citizens resisting for democracy were labeled as dangerous rioters.
If there had been no citizens outraged by Yoon Seok-yeol's emergency martial law on December 3 rushing to the National Assembly, if the number of lawmakers who broke through the police blockade and climbed over the National Assembly fence had been insufficient, if the martial law troops who stormed the National Assembly by helicopter had removed lawmakers before the vote, if the commanders and soldiers of the martial law troops had actively followed unjust orders, the Republic of Korea now would not be different from Gwangju in May 1980.
The National Assembly would have been forcibly dissolved based on the proclamation, lawmakers arrested by martial law troops and detained in unknown locations. Some might have been tortured or labeled as anti-state or system-overthrowing forces and punished.
Media outlets would have been controlled by martial law troops, all reports censored in advance, and no critical reports of the government would have been released. Journalists opposing censorship would have been subject to punishment under the proclamation.
Citizens criticizing the government or opposing martial law would have been arrested and detained without warrants and sentenced or punished in military courts. Doctors and residents would have been deprived of the freedom to choose their profession and punished for not returning to hospitals.
This is the martial law we know and have actually experienced.
When the dizzying emergency martial law was actually declared, Gwangju in May 1980 led us in December 2024. Even in the isolated situation 44 years ago, the courage of the citizens of Gwangju who faced the martial law troops at the risk of their lives, and the democracy they tried to protect, were the driving forces that moved us. The past helped the present, and the dead saved the living. The Republic of Korea, and Korean democracy, owe a great debt to Gwangju.
Respected senior and fellow lawmakers,
The emergency martial law on December 3 is a clear violation of the Constitution and a serious breach of law.
It did not meet any of the procedures and requirements for emergency martial law stipulated by the Constitution and infringed on the people's lives and safety, the existence and function of the state, popular sovereignty, democracy, and the rule of law, including crimes such as rebellion, abuse of authority, and obstruction of official duties under criminal law.
Article 77, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution defines the conditions for martial law as "in times of war, armed rebellion, or a similar national emergency, when it is necessary to respond to military needs or maintain public peace and order by military force." However, there was no war, rebellion, or similar national emergency. Article 77, Paragraph 4, which requires the president to immediately notify the National Assembly upon declaring martial law, was also not observed.
The fact that the emergency martial law was meticulously planned and prepared months in advance, that unmanned aerial vehicles were sent to North Korea to provoke provocations, and that an artificial wartime situation was created by targeting balloon bombs shows that the emergency martial law was clearly unconstitutional from the start.
The martial law troops and police paralyzed the functions of the constitutional institution, the National Assembly, and arrested lawmakers to prevent the resolution to lift martial law. After the declaration of emergency martial law, the police blocked the National Assembly, obstructing lawmakers and aides from entering. Fully armed martial law troops mobilized to the National Assembly attempted to enter the plenary hall, and armed troops broke the glass windows of the National Assembly main building and threatened staff.
Armed martial law troops and police occupied the Central Election Commission building and training center, which oversee national election affairs, controlled access, confiscated staff mobile phones, and photographed the integrated voter registry system servers.
Elite North Korean special operations forces were even deployed in the martial law operation. Martial law troops scouted locations to detain those to be arrested, and the Ministry of Justice sought places to imprison politicians and journalists to be detained.
In other words, the emergency martial law declaration on December 3 was not only unconstitutional and illegal but also a rebellion act in which the president mobilized the military to usurp popular sovereignty to maintain his power and to seize not only executive power but also legislative and judicial powers.
Yoon Seok-yeol is the leader of this rebellion.
Yoon personally checked the situation by calling the Special Warfare Commander and the Capital Defense Command Commander, directly ordered the arrest of lawmakers, and even reviewed the unconstitutional and illegal proclamation himself.
He called Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun on a burner phone and instructed, "It seems the quorum for the vote is not yet met. Quickly break down the door and drag out those inside," and called Hong Jang-won, First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, ordering, "Take them all this time, clean them all up," directing the arrest of the Speaker of the National Assembly, lawmakers, politicians, former Supreme Court Chief Justices and justices, broadcasters, and civil society figures.
He also issued a document listing target institutions and individuals to the Commissioner of the National Police Agency.
Respected senior and fellow lawmakers,
It is the duty of the National Assembly to restore the constitutional order that was destroyed by the emergency martial law rebellion on December 3.
Yoon Seok-yeol caused the emergency martial law rebellion on December 3, paralyzing the constitutional order. Impeaching Yoon, who destroyed the constitutional order, is the way to restore it. The National Assembly must suspend Yoon's duties with the authority granted by the Constitution to restore the constitutional order. This is the fastest and most orderly way to resolve the emergency martial law situation.
Yoon Seok-yeol is incapable of performing his duties normally.
As revealed by the unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law declaration on December 3 and the national address on the 12th, he is trapped in extreme delusions, unable to think rationally or make reasonable judgments. If his duties are not immediately suspended, it is impossible to know what reckless acts he might commit again. Suspending him immediately is the path for the people and the nation.
Yoon Seok-yeol is the greatest risk to the Republic of Korea.
The emergency martial law rebellion on December 3 dealt a severe shock to our country's economy, diplomacy, security, and national prestige, and the crisis has intensified since the impeachment failed last week. If the impeachment is rejected again, it is clear that Korea will enter an irrecoverable state.
Free democratic countries around the world, including the United States, have expressed serious concerns about the destruction of Korea's constitutional order and the crisis of democracy. By passing the impeachment proposal, we must show the world that Korea's constitutional order and democracy are functioning normally.
Members of the People Power Party, this is your last chance.
Grab the hem of the divine robe that runs through the door of history.
Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution: The Republic of Korea is a democratic republic.
Article 1, Paragraph 2: Sovereignty resides in the people, and all power emanates from the people.
Article 46, Paragraph 2: Members of the National Assembly shall perform their duties according to their conscience, prioritizing the national interest.
As a member of the democratic republic of Korea and a representative of the people, please vote in favor according to your conscience, prioritizing the national interest.
Putting party interests ahead of the national crisis is a betrayal of the people and a dereliction of the constitutional duties of lawmakers.
I appeal with a desperate heart in this grave situation.
The fate of the Republic of Korea depends on the choices of each member of the National Assembly.
By supporting the impeachment, please leave a historical lesson that those who destroy the constitutional order will surely be punished.
By supporting the impeachment, please realize the constitutional spirit that all power in Korea comes from the people.
By supporting the impeachment, please show the world that Korea's democracy is strong and steadfast.
Thank you.
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