South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law on Tuesday, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid ongoing disputes over a budget bill in parliament.
Yoon stated in a live televised address, “I hereby declare emergency martial law to safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness.”
He criticized the opposition, saying, “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralyzed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice.”
This unexpected decision follows continued bickering between Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill. Last week, opposition MPs approved a significantly reduced budget plan through a parliamentary committee.
The opposition cut approximately 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) from Yoon’s proposed 677 trillion won budget, reducing the government’s reserve fund and the activity budgets for Yoon’s office, the prosecution, police, and the state audit agency.
Yoon condemned the opposition, saying, “Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyze the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order.”
Assembly Adjourned
Yoon, a former prosecutor, accused opposition lawmakers of slashing “all essential budgets critical to the nation’s core functions, such as combating drug crimes and maintaining public security… turning the country into a drug haven and a state of chaos in public safety.”
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law on Tuesday, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid ongoing disputes over a budget bill in parliament.
In a live televised address, Yoon explained, “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law.”
He criticized the opposition, stating, “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralyzed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice.”
This unexpected move follows continued bickering between Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill. Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly reduced budget plan through a parliamentary committee, slashing approximately 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) from Yoon’s proposed 677 trillion won budget. They cut the government’s reserve fund and activity budgets for Yoon’s office, the prosecution, police, and the state audit agency.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combating drug crimes and maintaining public security… turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”
He described the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime.” He called the imposition of martial law “inevitable to guarantee the continuity of a liberal South Korea” and reassured that it would not affect the country’s foreign policy. “I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible,” he said.
Yoon condemned the current situation, stating South Korea was “on the verge of collapse, with the National Assembly acting as a monster intent on bringing down liberal democracy.”
In response to the martial law order, all military units have strengthened their emergency alert and readiness postures, as South Korea remains technically at war with nuclear-armed North Korea. The National Assembly’s entrance has been sealed, and MPs have been barred from entering the building.
This dramatic step follows a drop in Yoon’s approval rating to 19 percent in the latest Gallup poll, with many expressing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
