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December 4, 2024 | 07:33 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Relief came from South Korean citizens who gathered outside the National Assembly on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, after parliament members ended the three-hour martial law enforced by President Yoon Suk Yeol in an emergency plenary meeting.
As reported by Korea JoongAng Daily, helicopters retreated from the National Assembly building one by one, while the police stood in front of the gates, filled with hundreds of South Korean residents protesting the president's "extraordinary" decision.
"This is wrong, this is very wrong," said a woman from Goyang, Gyeonggi, who "ran from home to the National Assembly immediately upon hearing the news of the martial law" with her husband.
"How could he announce a military emergency in this day and age?" she said. "My husband called me to watch the news and told me that President Yoon Suk Yeol had declared a martial law. I thought I was dreaming."
The couple was among the hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the National Assembly trying to get the police to open the gates starting at 10:22 p.m. on Tuesday local time. This came after President Yoon announced the military emergency "to protect the Republic of Korea from the threat of communist forces from North Korea."
The National Assembly held a plenary session and issued a resolution calling for the lifting of the martial law on Wednesday morning, but the crowd refused to leave.
People shouted, "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, arrest Yoon Suk Yeol" on one side, while some tried to climb the wall towards the parliament's compound.
"I was so angry that I had to go out," said Kim, a man in his fifties, who was stopped by a police officer after trying to climb. "This is a direct violation of constitutional law and an abuse of state power," he said.
National Assembly staff were also on alert.
"We didn't know about the martial law but we saw many police officers start around lunchtime," said Kim, a staff member at the National Assembly.
"They didn't even allow parliamentary staff to enter, even when we showed our ID cards. This is the main reason why residents call it dictatorship. Does a martial law really make sense in this era?"
The presidential office has not issued any statement as of Wednesday at 1:40 a.m. local time.
However, Yoon said on Tuesday night that opposition parties had hijacked the parliamentary process as reported by CNA.
He vowed to eradicate "pro-North Korea anti-state forces who are shameless" and said he had no choice but to take action to maintain constitutional order.
Yoon did not mention any specific threats from North Korea, focusing instead on political opponents within his country. This is the first time since 1980 that a military emergency has been imposed in South Korea.
His announcement came as his party and the opposition clashed over the budget.
"To protect a liberal South Korea from the threat posed by communist forces from North Korea and to eliminate anti-state elements that rob the freedom and happiness of the people, I hereby declare a martial law," Yoon said in a televised address to the nation.
The president did not provide details on North Korea's threats, but technically, South Korea is still at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang.
"Disregarding people's livelihoods, opposition parties have disabled the government solely for impeachment, special investigation, and protecting their leaders from justice," Yoon added.
"Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a nest of legislative dictatorship that seeks to cripple the judiciary and administration systems and overturn our liberal democratic order," he said.
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