EXPERT INTERVIEW — It was a shock that few saw coming – and which brought memories of South Korea’s days as a military dictatorship, a generation ago: President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, in an announcement that stunned the nation, sparking outrage from politicians, large-scale protests, and a National Assembly vote to overturn the measure.
Before dawn Wednesday, roughly five hours after his declaration, President Yoon had backed down.
In his address to the nation late Tuesday, Yoon said the drastic step was needed to deal with his opponents, who he accused of plotting an “insurgency” and “trying to overthrow the free democracy.” Yoon said martial law would allow the country to push back against “shameless pro-North Korea anti-state elements.”
The South Korean Army Gen. Park An-su was appointed Martial Law Commander, with the power to enforce a ban on “all political activities.” According to the South Korean constitution, under martial law the president may also limit freedom of the press, and Gen. Park said that “all news media and publications are under the control of martial law command,” warning that those who spread “fake news” could be arrested without a court warrant.
Troops were deployed immediately to the National Assembly; helicopters were seen landing on the Assembly’s roof. As one university student, Juye Hong, told the BBC, it's "a move I never expected to see in the 21st century in South Korea."
Those scenes in Seoul – like Yoon’s declaration itself – were a throwback to a period of military dictatorship and frequent political violence in South Korea that ended nearly four decades ago. The last martial law declaration was made in 1980 – and the country has been a thriving democracy ever since.
The backdrop – and the response
Yoon’s move came in the midst of a long-running political deadlock over government policies and the national budget. Yoon won a close election in 2022 but has been an unpopular leader for much of his tenure. The opposition controls the National Assembly and has blocked many of Yoon’s policies, and in his speech Tuesday night, Yoon accused the opposition of having “paralyzed the administration…The National Assembly, which should have been the foundation of free democracy, has become a monster that destroys it.”
But almost as quickly as the military moved to enforce Yoon’s orders, South Korean lawmakers moved to defy the president.
Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called the martial law declaration “illegal” and “null and void,” and urged his fellow Democratic Party lawmakers to rush to the National Assembly to vote down his act. (Under South Korea’s constitution, martial law can be lifted with a majority vote in the Assembly, in which the Democratic Party currently holds a majority.)
“There is no reason to declare martial law,” Lee said. “We cannot let the military rule this country. President Yoon Seok Yeol has betrayed the people.”
Members of Yoon’s own party denounced the measure as well. Han Dong-hoon, the head of the People Power Party, said in a Facebook post that the president’s “martial law declaration is wrong” and that he would “work with the citizens to stop it.”
Lee, the opposition party leader, also called on regular citizens to converge on the parliament in protest – and thousands of people did exactly that, in the early hours of Wednesday. Large crowds gathered outside the National Assembly, chanting “end martial law!” There were also calls for Yoon’s arrest.
Perhaps most important, Assembly members heeded the call to come to the Assembly in the middle of the night and overturn Yoon’s declaration. The lawmakers had to make their way around military barricades to enter the parliament; many climbed over walls and fences to enter the building. Ultimately, 190 of the National Assembly’s 300 lawmakers, including some from Yoon’s ruling party, made it into the voting chambers. Shortly after 1:00 a.m. Wednesday, they unanimously voted down Yoon’s martial law declaration, less than three hours after his address.
Roughly two hours after the vote, President Yoon announced he would move to lift martial law, and his cabinet formalized the reversal soon after. Crowds gathered outside the parliament were seen celebrating in response.
The U.S. response
South Korea is a close U.S. ally, and a lynchpin in a group of Asian nations allied with Washington to deter China in the region. It has also been a reliable partner in the long-running, on-again, off-again efforts to reign in North Korea.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said that the U.S. was “not notified in advance” that Yoon would declare martial law. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell added at a State Department event that the U.S. was watching developments in South Korea with “grave concern,” and that the U.S.-South Korea alliance remains “ironclad.” U.S. Department of Defense press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said there had been no force posture changes for the roughly 28,000 American troops stationed in South Korea, and that the U.S. had seen no signs of “any force posture changes” from North Korea either.
Among questions for the days ahead are the fate of President Yoon, whether the drama in Seoul would have any lasting impact on U.S.-South Korean relations, or how key actors in the region — including China, Japan and North Korea — may respond.
Late Tuesday, The Cipher Brief spoke to Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, a former CIA director of East Asia Operations who also served as the Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks with North Korea.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
The Cipher Brief: It has been a wild and quite dramatic few hours in Korea. What was your reaction when you first heard that President Yoon had declared martial law in Korea?
Amb. DeTrani: I couldn't believe it. This took us back to 1980. South Korea is a liberal democracy. It's a model for the world. And to declare martial law? Wow. I was surprised, perplexed, but most importantly, I was saddened by that. That's bringing us back in time.
The Cipher Brief: It really was a headline from a period when military dictatorships were the norm.
Amb. Joseph DeTrani: Assassinations, the Gwangju uprising where thousands of students and civilians were killed by the military, it was so sad. And to think that this could happen again in South Korea – it’s so implausible.
The Cipher Brief: Why do you think President Yoon did this?
Amb. DeTrani: It's an act of desperation, in my view. His popularity is probably at the lowest – 10%, maybe even lower than that. He wasn't getting anything through the National Assembly because the opposition party controlled the Assembly. I have to wonder about his judgment, however, because despite all of the above, you don't declare martial law. You don't bring the country back to where it was over 40 years ago, with the anguish and with the killings. So I was totally distressed, to see a country that I have such great respect for, take this step. To see Yoon Suk Yeol declare martial law, I mean, it just wasn't right.
The Cipher Brief: And in terms of his stated reasons, he basically said, using some very dramatic and colorful language, that the opposition were enemies of the state. Incited by North Korea. But was it political gridlock that led him to go for this drastic measure?
Amb. DeTrani: Nothing suggests it was being incited by North Korea. He spoke of insurgency and elements within the country. And he looked like a leader who was reaching for straws, who was trying to find some reason to justify an extreme act.
The Cipher Brief: You said you were surprised by the initial news, the martial law declaration. Were you surprised at the speed of the backlash, the protests, and the way these parties came together to denounce what he had done?
Amb. DeTrani: No, I wasn't surprised. I truly believe that the Korean people, and especially those representatives in the National Assembly who are representing the people, feel very strongly about democracy, feel very strongly about martial law, about a decree telling the media, we no longer will permit you to speak the truth. No, I wasn't surprised. I was gratified to see 190 National Assemblymen make it to the Assembly so that they could pass this law, rescinding martial law.
And some of these representatives, they climbed the fence because the military had cordoned off that whole area of the National Assembly so that no one could enter. And obviously 190 entered and voted to rescind the martial law decree.
That speaks so highly for the people and the strength of the democracy there, and we see it on the streets. This was 2 o’clock in the morning. You have the National Assembly, people climbing the fence so they could vote. You have people demonstrating on the streets. There were people out there calling for his resignation.
I don't take any political view on this, but I think this would be the beginning of a strong movement to get President Yoon to walk away from the position, to resign from the presidency and bring it back to the people.
The Cipher Brief: How should we read this? As a profoundly disturbing step back and retreat to old ways and dictatorial methods, or as a great victory for the power of the people, in terms of what you've just been talking about and the swiftness with which it was overturned?
Amb. DeTrani: I think it's both. I think it's those in power trying to retain power, and go back to dictatorial measures like declaring martial law. But I think it also is indicative of the fact that the people will not permit that to happen. The people who know their history so well will not permit these autocrats, these dictators, to use the military to impose martial law on those people.
The Cipher Brief: And to what extent do these events worry you about the broader issues on the peninsula? And to what extent does it upset issues affecting U.S. national security?
Amb. DeTrani: Good question. I think the element of miscalculation during a period of turmoil, a period of uncertainty is in play. Where the North could be miscalculating, looking at the South, thinking that maybe they could take advantage of these demonstrations. Or conversely, where some elements in President Yoon’s government in the South may say, well, maybe this is a time we want to get North Korea to be a little more active, and then we could sort of use them as a bit of a crutch and say – look at how provocative they are. And we know they're very provocative.
It's that element of uncertainty, that element of unpredictability where both sides, the North and South, could march down a road and stumble into conflict. And we're talking about a North Korea now with a preemptive nuclear policy, where if there's perceived to be an imminent threat to the leadership of command and control, they can do whatever they want, use the tactical nuclear weapons if they have to. I don't see that happening, but the element of miscalculation, the element of stumbling into conflict, that's so profound, especially during these few hours where we see martial law and we see the public coming out on the street. And obviously Kim Jong-un is sitting in Pyongyang saying, Hey, this isn't bad. This looks pretty good. How do we use it?
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