Troops were seen trying to enter the South Korean parliament on Wednesday after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a surprise late-night TV address that slammed domestic political opponents and sent shock waves through the country.
Live television footage showed troops apparently tasked with imposing martial law attempting to enter the assembly building, and parliamentary aides were seen trying to push the soldiers back by spraying fire extinguishers.
Yoon said on Tuesday night that opposition parties had taken the parliamentary process hostage. He vowed to eradicate “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces” and said he had no choice but to take the measure to safeguard constitutional order.
Shortly after Yoon made his announcement, people began gathering outside the parliament building, some of them shouting: “Withdraw emergency martial law!”
The military said activities by parliament and political parties would be banned, and that media and publishers would be under the control of the martial law command.
Yoon did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents. It is the first time since 1980 that martial law has been declared in South Korea.
South Korea has had a series of authoritarian leaders early in its history but has been considered democratic since the 1980s.
Police in front the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday evening
| AFP-JIJI
The Korean won was down sharply against the U.S. dollar. A central bank official said it was preparing measures to stabilize the market if needed. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has convened an emergency meeting among top economic officials, his spokesman said in a text message.
The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF sank 5.1% in U.S. trading, its worst intraday drop since Aug. 5. The won fell to its weakest level against the U.S. dollar in more than two years. The London-listed shares of Samsung Electronics lost 5%.
Soldiers advance early Wednesday morning to the main building of the National Assembly in Seoul.
| YONHAP VIA REUTERS
Yoon’s predecessor, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party, said in a post on X that the country’s democracy is in crisis. “I hope that the National Assembly will act quickly to protect our democracy from crumbling,” he wrote in a post.
“I ask the people to join forces to protect and save democracy and to help the National Assembly function normally.”
The United States is in contact with the South Korean government and is monitoring the situation closely, a White House spokesperson said.
Some 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to guard against the North. A spokesman for the U.S. military command did not answer repeated phone calls.
Information from Bloomberg added.
