South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who recently said he would be building a “perfect security posture together” with the incoming Trump administration, on Tuesday announced that he was declaring martial law.
“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,” Yoon said in televised remarks, Reuters reported.
Despite framing martial law as a response to a foreign threat, Yoon also said the declaration was a response to actions taken by his liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which controls parliament and recently voted to impeach some of the country’s top prosecutors.
Yoon has struggled with low approval ratings in recent months, according to the Associated Press, which noted that he’s been struggling to pass a new budget in the face of Democratic opposition.
The leader of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, urged supporters to come to the National Assembly, which his party controls.
“President Yoon declared emergency martial law for no reason,” Lee said, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported. “Tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers with guns and swords will soon control the country,” Lee said,
The move to suspend South Korea’s democracy comes a day after the South Korean government hired a lobbying firm connected to President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle to represent its interests in Washington. As Politico reported Monday, the firm hired by South Korea’s Washington embassy, Mercury Public Affairs, previously employed Susie Wiles, Trump’s future White House chief of staff.
Before declaring martial law, Yoon last month signed a new security agreement with the Biden administration. He also spoke with President-elect Donald Trump, praising him as a force for good in the region.
“We will be building a perfect security posture together with the new administration in Washington and safeguard our freedom and peace,” he said at the time, per Reuters.
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