SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday, vowing to dismantle “anti-state” forces as he clashes with the opposition who controls the country’s parliament and accuses it of sympathizing with communist North Korea.
The shocking move harked back to the era of authoritarian leaders who have not seen the country since the 1980s, and was immediately condemned by the opposition and party leader Yoon.
Following Yoon’s announcement, South Korea’s military announced that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social unrest” would be suspended, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
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The military also said that doctors who are on strike in the country must return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been on strike for months over the government’s plan to increase the number of students in medical schools. The military said anyone who violates this law can be arrested without warrant.
It was not immediately clear how long Yoon’s martial law declaration could last. Under South Korean law, martial law can be lifted by a majority vote in parliament, where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Woo Won Shik, in an emergency speech released on his YouTube channel, called on all lawmakers to gather at the National Assembly and urged the military and law enforcement to “remain calm and hold their positions.
TV footage showed police blocking the entrance to the National Assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying guns in front of the main National Assembly building to prevent people from entering.
An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, possibly military, land inside the Convention grounds, while two or three helicopters circled the area.
Cho Kuk, the leader of a small opposition party, said there were not enough lawmakers to vote down the martial law declaration, as police blocked the door.
The leader of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, called the move to impose martial law “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”
Yoon said during a televised address that martial law will help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into national destruction.” He said he would “finish the pro-North Korean forces and protect the democratic order.”
“I will remove the anti-national forces as soon as possible and restore the country,” he said, asking people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconvenience.”
Yoon – whose approval ratings have plummeted in recent months – has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-dominated parliament since taking office in 2022.
Yoon’s party has clashed with the opposition parties over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also tried to indict three top prosecutors, including the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, in what defense officials said was a mishandling of the investigation into Lee, who is seen as a favorite of the lawmakers. The next presidential election is in 2027 in a referendum.
Yoon has also rejected calls for an independent investigation into matters involving his wife and senior officials, drawing swift, sharp rebukes from his opponents. The Democratic Party reportedly called an emergency meeting of lawmakers following Yoon’s announcement.
Yoon’s move is the first declaration of martial law since the establishment of democracy in 1987. The country’s last martial law was in October 1979.
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Correspondent Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.