President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea has enforced martial law, revealed during an unexpected late-night address on YTN TV, promising to dismantle “brazen pro-North Korean anti-national forces”.
The declaration of martial law is a first since 1980 for South Korea. As per Yonhap news agency, the military has announced that parliament and political party activities will be halted while media and publishers will be governed by the martial law administration.
Despite the absence of any direct threat from North Korea, Yoon concentrated his attention on his domestic political rivals. This surprising development led to a sense of shock across the nation, which in the early days had a sequence of authoritative leaders but has been acknowledged as a democratic state since the 1980s.
Yoon asserted that this step was his only option to guarantee a free and constitutional order, stating that opposition parties have manipulated the parliamentary process, thrusting the nation into a crisis.
“Instituting martial law to guard the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communism, eliminating the detestable pro-North Korean anti-national forces that loot the freedom and joy of our citizens, and preserving the free constitutional order,” Yoon proclaimed. He didn’t immediately define the pro-North Korean anti-national factions, but he has previously accused the factions of thwarting his political aims and destabilizing the nation.
Yoon referred to the opposition Democratic Party’s move to reject a budget proposal and impeach some top prosecutors of the country and rejecting a government budget proposal this week.
South Korean ministers had expressed their dissent towards the opposition DP’s move to cut over 4 trillion won from the government’s proposed budget. Yoon has claimed that such actions jeopardize the core functioning of government administration.
The Korean won suffered a significant drop against the U.S. dollar in the wake of the news. A central bank spokesperson stated they are prepared to intervene and stabilize the market if these abrupt fluctuations continue.
Following the declaration of martial law in South Korea, the stock market has reacted negatively. Samsung Electronics saw its shares decline by 4.5% in the London market, highlighting investors’ concerns about the escalating political uncertainty. Moreover, the EWY ETF, which tracks the KOSPI index, fell by 3.5% in U.S. pre-market trading.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s announcement has impacted overall market confidence, and the enforcement of martial law could pose significant challenges to political and economic stability in the region.
