South Korean Military Says Martial Law Stays Until President Lifts It, Despite Parliament Vote
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his political opponents have paralyzed government while sympathizing with North Korea.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/...&utm_content=brnews1

This message has been edited. Last edited by: downtownv,

Seems like NK sent in operatives in the government like all the commies do.

IDK enough about the situation, but it also sounds plausible that this president is cracking and seeing enemies everywhere. Is there someone well versed in SK politics that could weigh in?

From the Sun "Since taking office in 2022, Mr Yoon has struggled to push his agendas against an opposition-controlled parliament.

He has been a lame-duck president since the opposition won a landslide in parliament and was said to have “gone nuclear” by branding his enemies “anti-state.”

Yoon's conservative People Power Party had been in a deadlock with the opposition Democratic Party over next year's budget bill.

The president and his glamorous wife Kim Keon-hee have also been mired in corruption scandals in which she was accused of peddling her influence." LINK

Time for Rooftop Koreans!

quote:

South Korean Military declares Martial Law

Again?

Martial Law in Korea: A Disaster for South Korea and the United States

https://weapons.substack.com/p...rue&utm_medium=email

The Korean President's martial law decree was rescinded by the Korean parliament, whose members voted despite the incursion of combat troops trying to break into meeting rooms in the parliament building.

After lawmakers unanimously voted to block the president’s martial law decree, dozens of troops that had entered the main parliamentary building began to withdraw, according to Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

As of December 3rd at noon, Washington time, the martial law decree has not been rescinded by Yoon, even though under Korean laws it must be ended.

The decision of the South Korean president was a disaster for Korea and also for the United States. Mr. Yoon's reckless declaration has imperiled the country and severely risked the alliance with the United States.

The United States keeps a large military force in Korea based on a mutual defense treaty.

The US has 28,500 US troops in Korea, predominantly Army, the majority of them at Camp Humphreys, the largest US overseas base in the world. In addition there is U.S. Army Garrison Daegu and Camp Casey, near the DMZ.

The US Air Force operates at Kunsan Air Base and Osan Air Base. Kunsan Air Base is the home of the 8th Fighter Wing, "The Wolf Pack," assigned to the Pacific Air Forces' Seventh Air Force and the 38th Fighter Group of the Republic of Korea Air Force. Osan Air Base, located 48 miles south of the Korean DMZ, is home to the "Mustangs" 51st Fighter Wing and 24 tenant units, including Seventh Air Force. As the most forward deployed permanently-based wing in the Air Force, the 51st Fighter Wing is charged with providing mission-ready Airmen to execute combat operations and receive follow-on forces.

Since 2016 the US has deployed a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea as part of the US ballistic missile defense system.

The Biden administration, at least so far, has said very little, probably trying to work in the background in the early stages of the Korean President's announcement. But Washington cannot sit idly by and hope for the best.

If the Korean army obeys the parliamentary decree, as they appear to have done by retreating from the parliament building, that's a hopeful sign. But the army and police also can't suppress protests using violence as a political tool, as they have been doing. Should the Korean army continue in this mode it will lose its credibility at home and force the US into a divorce it does not want.

The internal political situation in South Korea is now almost beyond salvation. It remains to be seen if common sense will replace recklessness.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

South Korean Military declares Martial Law

Again?

While South Korea is a democracy, they aren't shy about using state power in ways we would never countenance, including in attempts to stay in power. I don't know much about this incident, but it isn't far out of character for Korea. Remember, this country didn't really exist before the end of WWII.

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
Time for Rooftop Koreans!

Those aren't a domestic product there, with their super strict arms control. Like I think Japan is more gun friendly than South Korea.

If I recall correctly, there was some talk a couple years back of loosening gun laws in South Korea, as a method to further dissuade North Korea from invading. One South Korean politician was against the idea, saying that "if we let the people have guns, they'd shoot us."

quote:

If I recall correctly, there was some talk a couple years back of loosening gun laws in South Korea, as a method to further dissuade North Korea from invading. One South Korean politician was against the idea, saying that "if we let the people have guns, they'd shoot us."

I think there's a great deal of truth to that.

If I understood another report correctly, it was the Korean president who declared martial law,not the military. The military enforces it, but does not declare it.

^^ Yup...The thread title is inaccurate!

AND, not only that, apparently Martial Law has already been lifted according to the Epoch Times link.

It’s a matter of who do you believe. The president who says there are North Korean operatives or his critics who say he is corrupt through his wife.

I don’t know enough to have an opinion.

Well, that didn't last long. The president declared martial law, parliament revoked it. Troops were sent to parliament, crowds of the public tried to intervene.
President revoked martial law decree.
Parliament (which included those in his own party) pondering impeachment; others call for him to step down.
In the old days under Japan seppuku would have been the correct response.

Has Israel ever declared martial law? It has existed roughly the same amount of time as South Korea, and like that country, it is small and bordered by enemies.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
Has Israel ever declared martial law? It has existed roughly the same amount of time as South Korea, and like that country, it is small and bordered by enemies.

Yes. It's relatively common in Israel, though generally not in effect nationwide, and not in the sense of one portion of the government using the military to overthrow another part of the government like appears to have been the goal here in South Korea.

Instead, since Israel's founding in 1949, portions of the country that are either experiencing heightened terrorism issues, or who would be under higher threat of invasion/bombardment during times of war, have been placed under martial law. Often for years/decades at a time.

Much like the US did in Hawaii throughout WW2.

Expect this guy to be gone, soon. What an idiot.

South Korean president apologizes for declaring martial law ahead of impeachment vote
'The declaration of his martial law was made out of my desperation,' President Yoon Suk Yeol said

By Landon Mion | Fox News
Published December 7, 2024 2:29am EST

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday apologized for his short-lived declaration of martial law earlier in the week, as he now prepares for a parliamentary vote on whether to impeach him.

Yoon said in a televised address Saturday morning that he will evade legal or political responsibility for the declaration and vowed not to make another attempt to impose it, according to The Associated Press. The president, a conservative, said he would leave it to his party to offer a path forward amid the country's political turmoil, "including matters related to my term in office."

"The declaration of his martial law was made out of my desperation," Yoon said. "But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot."

In his martial law declaration on Tuesday, Yoon called parliament a "den of criminals" blocking state affairs and pledged to eliminate "shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces."

A National Assembly vote on an opposition-led motion to impeach Yoon is slated for Saturday afternoon. The opposition parties that jointly brought the impeachment motion hold 192 of the legislature's 300 seats, meaning they need at least eight additional votes from Yoon's conservative People Power Party to secure the needed two-thirds to pass the motion.

Yoon's party called for his removal on Friday, although the party remained formally opposed to impeachment.

Opposition lawmakers say that Yoon’s declaration of martial law was a self-coup, so they drafted the impeachment motion on rebellion charges.

If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the second in command in the South Korean government, would take over his presidential responsibilities.

Should the president be removed, an election to replace him must be held within 60 days.

On Tuesday, special forces troops were observed encircling the parliament building and army helicopters were hovering over it. The military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn Yoon's declaration of martial law, forcing him to lift it just hours after it was issued.

The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea.

Thousands of demonstrators have since protested in the streets of Seoul, waving banners, shouting slogans and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to demand Yoon’s removal.

Han said he had received intelligence that, during the period of martial law, Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain key politicians based on accusations of "anti-state activities."

After Yoon’s televised address, Han again called for the president to resign. Han said the president wasn’t in a state where he could normally carry out official duties.

"President Yoon Suk Yeol’s early resignation is inevitable," Han told reporters.

Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians including Han, the main liberal opposition Democratic Party's leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly speaker Woo Won Shik, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting.

South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers

https://www.zerohedge.com/geop...-justify-martial-law

Former South Korean former defense chief Kim Yong-hyun ordered a swarm of drones to North Korea's capital with hopes of provoking an attack that could be used to justify a declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean legislators have alleged. Meanwhile, ahead of an expected weekend impeachment vote, Yoon used an address to the nation to promise that he would fight "until the very last minute" against being removed from power.

Kim was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in aiding Yoon's attempt to impose military rule, suspend civil liberties and remove checks and balances -- and attempted suicide shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Previous reports pointed to Kim's deployment of troops to prevent lawmakers from convening after Yoon's shocking Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. If true, the sensational new allegation from Park Beom-kye of the opposition Democratic Party suggests an entirely different layer of dangerous complicity.

“The Defense Counterintelligence Command, where former commander Yeo In-hyung – a junior to Kim at the same high school – was posted, appears to have planned [the drone deployment]," said Park in remarks in the parliament on Monday, according to The Telegraph. Citing a "credible military source," he later told reporters that the "drone operation appears to have been part of a larger plan, potentially tied to preparations for the martial law decree.”

In October, the North Korean government said it had detected multiple South Korean drones that were sent to Pyongyang to shower the capital city with propaganda leaflets. North Korea published a photo of what appears to be a drone that had crashed into a group of trees. At that time and again this week, the South Korean government declined to confirm or deny the accusation.

Park's suggestion that Kim and Yoon may have conspired to provoke a North Korean military response -- with an accompanying risk of the loss of South Korean lives -- adds an explosive new dimension to the country's ongoing political crisis that followed the declaration of martial law.

In April, Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) was routed in elections that saw the Democratic Party take over the country's assembly by a significant margin. In the ensuing months, mounting tensions took various forms, including an impasse over the 2025 budget and Democrats' attempt to impeach top prosecutors. On Dec. 3, Yoon stunned South Korea and the international community with a late-night declaration of martial law. In his announcement, Yoon railed against “shameless pro-North-Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens...I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country.”

Soldiers and police immediately surrounded the National Assembly, but 190 of the 300 members of parliament managed to unanimously vote to annul the martial law declaration. Yoon retracted it and apologized, but the repercussions have continued to unfold since then. Defense chief Kim resigned upon being charged, was taken into custody on Tuesday and attempted to kill himself hours later. The country's top two law enforcement officers have also been arrested, and police have made multiple attempts to search Yoon's office.

An impeachment vote last weekend failed in the face of a boycott by the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but the Democratic Party has announced it will move for impeachment again on Saturday, and some PPP members are now voicing their support.

On Thursday, Yoon returned to the kind of fiery rhetoric he used in his martial law announcement, calling the Democratic Party "a monster" composed of "anti-state forces."

“I will fight to the end to prevent the forces and criminal groups that have been responsible for paralyzing the country’s government and disrupting the nation’s constitutional order from threatening the future of the Republic of Korea...The opposition is now doing a sword dance of chaos, claiming that the declaration of martial law constitutes to an act of rebellion. But was it really?”

Yoon portrayed his martial law move as a legitimate use of government authority which should be exempt from the investigations that have been directed at it. He also claimed soldiers and police were sent to the parliament to keep order, not to thwart legislators.

According to Associated Press, opposition parties control 192 of the National Assembly's 300 seats. With impeachment requiring a two-thirds majority, that means pro-impeachment forces will need to win over eight members of Yoon's PPP. Significantly, PPP chairman Han Dong-hun has called for members to send Yoon packing. Yoon's fiery Thursday speech has helped stir discord in his party. When Han told a party meeeting that Yoon's remarks "a confession of rebellion," he received angry jeers from Yoon backers, who told him to be quiet.

Polymarket speculators are convinced Yoon will leave office within the next few months. The "yes" contract on a departure before April 1 is going for 80¢. Bettors are less convinced that he'll be out by year-end, with the "yes" on that version priced at only 12¢.

Boy this was a scary scenario.
These days we're depending on the sang-froid of Kim Jung-Un and Putin to avoid nuclear war.

quote:

Former South Korean former defense chief Kim Yong-hyun ordered a swarm of drones to North Korea's capital

How was a "former" anything able to order such major incursion? I don't buy it.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
How was a "former" anything able to order such major incursion? I don't buy it.

He's now the "former defense chief" because he resigned from that position a few days ago when he was charged and arrested for his involvement in this plot:

quote:

Defense chief Kim resigned upon being charged, was taken into custody on Tuesday and attempted to kill himself hours later.

But he was still the currently active defense chief when he ordered it back in October. He wasn't "former" yet.