OPINION — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to impose martial law in South Korea was a desperate and cowardly attempt to stifle free speech and assembly in a country that has suffered at the hands of previous dictators. On December 14, a bipartisan National Assembly voted to impeach the president. The Constitutional Court has 180 days to rule on impeachment, during which time Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo will be in charge.
The startling series of events was a throwback to the 1980 coup d’etat carried out by Major General Chun Doo-hwan, and the May 18, 1980 Gwangju democratic uprising in South Korea’s sixth-largest metropolis. Back then, students supported by an outpouring of pro-democracy activists protested martial law. The military reacted violently, resulting in estimates of over 2,000 deaths. The government blamed “communist sympathizers” and the North Korean government for the uprising.
Fortunately, more than four decades later, President Yoon’s martial law decree was rescinded before it could develop into another uprising.
Mr. Yoon declared in a December 3rd nightly broadcast the imposition of “emergency martial law”, accusing the opposition of “anti-state” activities and saying the measure was necessary to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces”. A few hours later, General Park An-son, the martial law commander, announced the prohibition of all political activities, rallies and demonstrations. The decree also subjected all media and publications to martial law control.
Brave parliamentarians
The December 6th edition of the Wall Street Journal cited the reaction of Wi Sung lac, a 70-year-old former diplomat and now an assemblyman with the opposition Democratic Party. Mr. Wi was in shock over Mr. Yoon’s decree, but knew he had to move quickly to the National Assembly building, as did many of his colleagues, given that at least 190 lawmakers had to vote to nullify Mr. Yoon’s decree, before the military locked down the National Assembly building.
These brave members of the National Assembly, including many in their 70s, climbed over fences, some with the help of civilian protesters, to reach the National Assembly before the military cordoned off the building. They garnered the 190 votes needed to overturn Mr. Yoon’s martial law order. Included in the vote were 18 from Mr. Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP), who voted at the urging of PPP party leader, Han Dong-hoon, Mr. Yoon’s former justice minister, who said the president’s decision was unconstitutional
I worked with Mr. Wi during the Six-Party Talks with North Korea some two decades ago. I can’t think of a more patriotic and anti-communist citizen of South Korea. Any attempt to impugn Mr. Wi’s integrity or the integrity of the other brave members of the National Assembly is an outright act of desperation on the part of Mr. Yoon. On December 3rd, these patriots forced Mr. Yoon to rescind his decree. Mr. Wi’s reported words will always stay with me: “It was unanimous. It was passionate, patriotic, filled with enthusiasm to defend democracy.” Yes, that’s a model liberal democracy in action.
In an early broadcast on December 7, Mr. Yoon apologized to the people but refused to resign. Later that day, 105 members of Mr. Yoon’s PPP boycotted the National Assembly vote to impeach Mr. Yoon. The National Assembly did not have the number of required legislators for an impeachment vote. The National Assembly Speaker, Woo Won Shik, said this was “very regrettable.” But there was a growing number of peaceful demonstrations demanding Mr. Yoon’s resignation during the week, with over 200,000 demonstrators outside the National Assembly as the lawmakers voted to impeach the president.
Watching the North
North Korea would be making a tragic mistake if the Kim Jong Un regime tried to exploit this period of instability in South Korea. Democracy in South Korea is resilient, as witnessed by the speed – just six hours – in which Mr. Yoon was forced to rescind his martial law decree.
Hopefully, North Korea’s allies, China and Russia, are cautioning Mr. Kim to refrain from any provocative move against South Korea. This is especially true now, when relations between South and Noth Korea are at an historic low. Indeed, both Koreas should refrain from any actions that could be viewed as provocative. Regardless of the intent, these actions could escalate quickly, with the prospect that both Koreas could be engulfed in conflict, once again.
This column by Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani was first published in The Washington Times
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