President Yoon has declared martial law. (Image: Getty)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law” today, accusing the country’s opposition of controlling the parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralysing the government with anti-state activities.
Yoon announced the move during a televised briefing. He declared the step critical for defending the country’s constitutional order, saying: “I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order.
“Through this martial law, I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into the depths of national ruin.”
It was unclear how the steps would affect the country’s governance and democracy.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon of the People Power Party has struggled to push his agendas against an opposition-controlled parliament.
Members of the national federation of farmers with an effigy of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (Image: AP)
Domestically, his administration has struggled with rising public discontent over economic inequality, unaffordable housing, and record-high household debt, exacerbated by inflation and economic instability following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yoon’s push for energy reforms, including revitalising nuclear energy to address South Korea’s carbon emissions, has sparked public concern about nuclear safety.
His emphasis on job creation and innovation also faces hurdles amidst widespread economic uncertainty.
Internationally, Yoon has adopted a more assertive foreign policy, prioritising closer ties with the US and improving relations with Japan.
North Korea propaganda village seen across the DMZ
His efforts to strengthen South Korea’s role in global trade and align with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) have raised tensions with China, South Korea’s largest trade partner.
Relations with North Korea remain fraught, with recent provocations intensifying inter-Korean tensions.
These challenges, alongside maintaining domestic stability and navigating a polarised political landscape, have put significant pressure on Yoon’s presidency.
North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, pictured last month (Image: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)
The Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953, left the Korean Peninsula divided along the 38th parallel, creating two separate states: North Korea, under communist rule, and South Korea, aligned with Western democracies.
The war ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, meaning the two Koreas remain technically at war. Hostility between the nations has persisted, with North Korea consistently seeking to consolidate power under the Kim dynasty.
Kim Il-sung, the nation’s founding leader, initiated the war and established a regime defined by totalitarian control and military might.
His successors – Kim Jong-il and, since 2011, Kim Jong-un – have pursued policies of isolationism and nuclear weapons development to solidify their control and deter foreign intervention.
South Korean soldier (R) and UNC (United Nations Command) soldier (background, in green) at the DMZ. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea has intensified its provocations, including frequent missile tests and threats against both South Korea and the United States.
Such actions have exacerbated tensions with South Korea, which, under successive governments, has oscillated between diplomatic overtures and hardline stances.
Despite moments of thaw, such as the inter-Korean summits in 2018, meaningful progress has been hampered by Pyongyang’s insistence on retaining its nuclear arsenal.
The legacy of the Korean War and decades of mutual distrust continue to dominate relations, with the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) standing as a stark symbol of the unresolved conflict and enduring hostility between the two nations.
