South Korea’s hard-line conservative president has declared martial law in a bid to “eliminate anti-state forces”—causing chaos outside parliament as lawmakers forced entry to block the motion.
In a move more suited to his infamous adversary to the north, Kim Jong Un, former chief prosecutor Yoon Suk Yeol sternly railed against his country’s left-wing National Assembly, local councils, political parties, and demonstrators in a late-night television address.
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The media was in his glare, too. Yoon, who has been president since 2022, has previously been accused of attempting to silence journalists he accused of spreading “fake news,” The New York Times reported. Police raids on the homes of journalists are not uncommon under his reign.
The new emergency measures were brought in, he said, because the left-wing assembly sympathizes with North Korea.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said.
“The martial law is aimed at eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom,” he added. Yonhap News Agency reported that those who violate martial law can be arrested without warrant.
The BBC’s man in Seoul, Jake Kwon, said Yoon “has gone for the nuclear option” because he’s a scandal-laden “lame duck president” whose influence was depleted when the opposition won a landslide in parliament.
In recent hours the situation has developed and special forces soldiers are inside the assembly building in the capital, Seoul, according to the BBC. This followed a move from the leader of South Korea’s main opposition, the Democratic Party, to call its members to parliament. Under martial law, political activity is banned, but Yoon’s motion was voted down by parliament.
The country’s constitution says a majority vote in the assembly is required to force a block on the martial law motion, and reports state that some 199 lawmakers voted to overturn the measure. Police had clashed with protesters outside and inside the South Korean National Assembly, and police buses had also been moved in to block the entrance to the parliament building.
A U.S. National Security Council spokesperson told CBS News that President Joe Biden’s administration is “monitoring the situation closely” and is in contact with the South Korean government.
The last time martial law was declared in South Korea was in 1979.
Yoon famously sang American folk-rock classic “American Pie” in the White House in April 2023.
