Parliament workers used sofas and fire extinguishers to block soldiers armed with rifles and night vision goggles from entering the South Korean National Assembly to enforce martial law, CCTV footage released on Wednesday showed.
Shortly after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday – the first imposed in the South in four decades – helicopter gunships flew armed troops into South Korea’s parliament, it was revealed.
Some soldiers climbed over the fences after midnight, Kim Min-ki, secretary-general of the assembly, told reporters at the conference, adding that they then broke windows to enter the building in what he called “illegal and illegal”.
“We will recognize the damage and loss caused by the declaration of martial law and hold those responsible accountable through the courts,” he said.
They said 280 soldiers entered the parliament building, he said, but immediately met the workers, they grabbed anything available to block the entrances and prevent the soldiers from reaching the lawmakers in the debate.
Pictures showed several soldiers trying to enter the building, only to be dragged away by protesters.
“We are currently investigating how many people, including parliamentarians, were injured during the conflict with the military,” said Kim.
The soldiers “unlawfully blocked the National Assembly after declaring martial law, violating the constitution and the law by barring members of parliament from entering,” he said.
“They also trampled the parliament building using the military, causing deep wounds in people’s hearts,” he said.
– Gunfight –
In one dramatic incident, An Gwi-ryeong, a spokesman for the opposition Democratic Party, struggled with a soldier, trying to grab his gun.
The fight lasted more than ten seconds. After he took out his weapon, the soldier pointed at him briefly.
Undeterred, An, a former news anchor, shouted: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? pictures of this event showed.
“I had no choice but to stop them from entering the main building because the order was being sent to block martial law,” An told AFP Wednesday.
Under South Korea’s constitution, if the parliament calls for martial law to be lifted, the president is obliged to do so, and experts say soldiers were sent in to stop the vote.
“I feared for my life,” he said of the fight.
“But I realized that I have to stop them no matter what… because I did not understand the presence of fully armed soldiers inside the parliament.
The soldiers in the compound were trying to demolish the building, the police were closing the gates of the assembly, trying to prevent members of parliament from entering.
“Some MPs had to climb the fence to get in to vote on the resolution,” opposition MP Shin Chang-sik told AFP.
Not all MPs were able to enter the assembly. Lee Jun-seok, another opposition lawmaker, was stopped by lines of police guarding the gates.
“You’re ruining the job of a lawmaker,” Lee can be heard shouting in the line – but he was still not allowed inside.
– ‘Go home, you children of evil!’ –
As soon as the soldiers entered the parliament, they found the doors of the main chamber blocked by piles of furniture that had been placed by the parliament staff, CCTV footage showed.
The video shows soldiers running towards a barricaded gate with guns pointed at unarmed workers, who continued to collect office chairs and desks in their path.
“Go home you stupid children!” shouted one worker, another demonstrator took out a fire extinguisher and aimed at the soldiers.
Behind the crowd of workers were many flashing cameras, taking time to operate.
It was not until after the decision to call for martial law to be lifted at around 1 am (1600 GMT) that the soldiers began to withdraw.
They ended up getting up at 2 in the morning, leaving broken windows and household appliances, but no shots were fired.
“I was so angry that I couldn’t sleep last night, I went out to see that we pushed Yoon completely,” 50-year-old Kim Min-ho told AFP at a demonstration at the convention on Wednesday.
“How can something like this happen in the 21st century?” Park Su-hyung, 39, said.
“I am here because I am afraid that our democracy will be trampled if we keep Yoon in office for a while.”
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