The Hidden Meaning of the Martial Law in South Korea

ASIA--PACIFIC, 16 Dec 2024

Sakai Tanaka - TRANSCEND Media Service

5 Dec 2024 – South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law (i.e. the extraordinary martial law) on the night of 3 Dec 2024, but six hours later, in the early hours of 4 Dec, it was overturned by the Parliament and forced to be retracted. In South Korea’s political world, the opposition Democratic Party of Korea holds the majority in the Parliament (i.e. the National Assembly), and Yoon has been running the political situation on the edge, with the impeachment resolutions being submitted many times in the past (i.e. the seats of the opposition party did not reach the two-thirds required for impeachment to pass, and they were rejected). Recently, the opposition party significantly reduced the government budget proposal submitted by Yoon. Increasingly being pushed into the corner, he declared martial law in the attempt to make a sudden turnaround, but he was defeated miserably. （South Korea’s Unsuccessful Self-Coup Could Complicate America’s “Pivot (Back) To Asia”） and [2024 South Korean martial law]

2. The criticism against Yoon’s declaration of martial law is growing even within the ruling party, the People Power Party (PPP). The United States, to which South Korea submits, also issued a statement on 4 December 2024, with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, one of the key figures in the Asian security, criticizing Yoon’s actions. Yoon declared martial law without consulting or notifying the US government (through the official channels), and failed. Yoon’s credibility has fallen significantly. More lawmakers within the ruling party are in favor of Yoon’s impeachment, and the possibility of the impeachment resolution passing is increasing. Yoon has destroyed himself. （US says South Korea’s Yoon badly misjudged martial law declaration）
3. Yoon declared martial law at 10:30 p.m. on 3 December 2024. The martial law headquarters (HQ) was set up within the military. At 11:00 p.m., HQ issued the order to prohibit the political activities of the Parliament and the political parties. The special military forces were dispatched to the Parliament Building to block the Parliament and to arrest the Speaker. However, the military’s blockade of the Parliament was not completed. The opposition party members entered the Parliament one after another.  At 1:00 a.m. on 4 December, the resolution to lift martial law was passed by the majority of the Parliament. In response, the ruling party also called on Yoon to lift the martial law. The Korean Constitution and other laws stipulate that even if martial law is declared, if the parliament votes by the majority to lift it, the President must lift it. Yoon lifted martial law at 4:30 a.m. in accordance with this provision. （Coup attempt in South Korea: What was it all about?）
4. Yoon intended to immediately ban the political activities of the members of Parliament and to block the Parliament to prevent the Parliament from passing the resolution to lift martial law. Otherwise, the opposition party, which holds the majority in the Parliament, would nullify martial law. Even if the Parliament voted to lift martial law, Yoon could have rejected it, saying that it was an illegal act that violated the martial law, and forced the maintenance of the martial law. Actually, however, the South Korean military, which should have been able to do so quickly, did not immediately close the Parliament, and the opposition lawmakers entered the Parliament Building and passed the vote to lift martial law. The ruling party also gave up on Yoon.  He was unable to reject the vote and collapsed, forcing him to lift the martial law. （South Korea – President Launches Putsch Against Parliament）
5. Before declaring martial law, Yoon must have thoroughly investigated who would cooperate and to what extent, and who would oppose it to what extent. Even if the opposition party and the public opinion were fiercely opposed, and there were some defections from the military and the ruling party, he must have thought that he could carry out martial law and went ahead with it. Where and how did he go wrong? I suspect that the US government’s opposition to martial law was the deciding factor in the failure. South Korea is completely dependent on the US for its national security. The South Korean military is under the umbrella of the US military. Martial law cannot be imposed without the approval of the US government. Yoon should have obtained the consent of the US government in advance to declare martial law. Was that because he did not lay the groundwork in advance with the US that he was strongly opposed and immediately failed? That was probably not the case. Without the approval of the US, the South Korean President would not declare martial law, which is a military action. （South Korean President Announces Plan To Lift Martial Law In TV Address To Nation）
6. It is more likely that the US side instigated Yoon to declare martial law, rather than Yoon coming up with the idea of ​​martial law and asking the US for it. If Yoon asked the US for it, and the US side could refused, His credibility among the US upper echelons would be shaken. It is unlikely that he would have sounded out the idea. It is reasonable to speculate that the US government brought it up. There are also rumors that Yoon was persuaded by his own administration’s Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun to declare martial law, but even if that were the case, martial law could not be implemented without consulting the US government in advance and getting its approval.
7. Actually, however, it is generally viewed that Yoon declared martial law without the approval from the US. In fact, Secretary of State Blinken says he had not heard anything from the South Korean government in advance. The US government learned of Yoon’s martial law from television reports. The Biden administration, which probably learned of Yoon’s declaration of martial law on television, immediately decided to oppose it and called Yoon to order him to withdraw the declaration. The US government requested the South Korean military through the US Forces in South Korea not to cooperate with the martial law declaration. The US government could have also pressured the South Korean ruling party not to cooperate with Yoon. As the result of these, the martial law was abated within 1-2 hours, the special forces dispatched to the Parliament Buidling also became slow to act, the opposition party members were able to enter the Parliament Building, and the vote for the lifting of martial law was passed. The ruling party also recommended that Yoon lift martial law. （US was not aware in advance of South Korea martial law decision, Blinken says）
8. Did Yoon not consult with the US government beforehand? Probably he did. The questions here include “who in the US administration Yoon consulted with” and “who instigated him”.  Since Trump has not yet taken office, it must have been someone in the Biden administration. There have long been forces in the upper echelons of the Biden administration that cause the self-destructive and strange developments. In June of this year, for example, they arranged for Biden to hold the Presidential Debate with Trump, exposing Biden’s dementia.
9. They mobilized the media to criticize, forced Biden to withdraw his candidacy, and promoted the more incompetent Vice President Harris instead. They forced the Democratic Party into a situation where it could not commit election fraud, resulting in the crushing defeat for Harris, which made Trump’s return. In my opinion, they are the Likud faction in the US Intelligence Community (IC) who have infiltrated the upper echelons of the Biden administration. This time, they pretended to be the representatives of the Biden administration and instigated Yoon to declare martial law, which caused the major failure and forced him to resign. （トランプ快勝の裏側）[Two-thirds of Israelis support Donald Trump in 2024 election: poll] [Why American Jews ought to give Donald Trump a chance]   [The Intelligence Community]    [The United States Intelligence Community: A Deep Dive]  and  [Explore the Journey of the Intelligence Community: Our History, Agencies, and Collective Mission]
10. Probably there is the background behind this trend that after Trump takes office, he implements his plan to have the dialogue with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, which he did in his first term, to mediate the reconciliation between South Korea and North Korea, to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and to withdraw the US troops from South Korea. In this plan, if Yoon remains the President of South Korea, he may refuse the reconciliation with the North Korea. Then, the North-South dialogue will not progress. Therefore, this time, the Likud faction in the IC attempted to destroy Yoon with the martial law incident, and early next year, around the time Trump takes office, to cause South Korea to hold the Presidential Election. Then, the “Democratic Party of Korea” will become the ruling party of South Korea, which could control both the Presidency and the Parliament. Trump is trying to win over the new South Korean government, which could become proactive in the North-South reconciliation, while also restarting the dialogue with Kim Jong Un, reconciling the two Koreas and abandoning the US Hegemony over the Korean Peninsula. The Likud faction in the IC is probably cooperating with Trump to help him succeed in preventing conflict in the Korean Peninsula and abandoning the US Hegemony not only in the Middle East and Europe but also in Asia. That is my guess. (Ensuring the Security of Israel)    [Exclusive-Trump Team Weighs Direct Talks With North Korea’s Kim in New Diplomatic Push, Sources Say]    [Trump team discussing renewed direct talks with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un: Report]    [Potential Trump-Kim summit – The Korea Times]    [Trump proposed complete withdrawal of U.S. Forces Korea]  and   [Why Trump is right about North Korea]

Notes:

1. The hyperlinks with the parentheses ( ) at the end of some paragraphs were added by the original author. Those hyperlinks in the paragraphs and those with brackets [ ], with the italic letters at the end of some paragraphs, were added by the translator for the convenience of the reader.
2. The paragraph number was added to the head of each paragraph (except to that of the first paragraph) by the translator for the convenience of the reader.
3. The views and/or opinions in those hyperlinks added by the translator do not necessarily reflect those of his. In addition, it is either impossible or unavailable for the translator to verify the genuineness of the information in those links. He does not take any responsibility for the contents in those relevant links at all.
4. The views and/or opinions expressed in the above-mentioned article are those of Sakai Tanaka, who is the original author. His views and/or opinions do not necessarily reflect those of TMS or those of the translator. Therefore, the reader is kindly requested to understand, interpret or judge those views and/or opinions at his or her own responsibility.

_______________________________________

After graduating from university, Sakai Tanaka started working at the Kyodo News  Agency in 1986. From 1997 he joined Microsoft Network (MSN) and in 1999, due to change of policy at Microsoft, he became an independent journalist. Tanaka has published more than twenty books on international affairs, some translated and published in China, South Korea and Taiwan. He studied at Harvard University from 2000 to 2001 and in 2005 was invited to serve as a senior researcher at the Royal Faisal Institute in Saudi Arabia. Website: tanakanews.com

Satoshi Ashikaga is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. Having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, he prefers a peaceful and prudent life.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, constantly remind him of the invaluableness of peace.

Translation: Satoshi Ashikaga – Google Translate

Original in Japanese: 韓国戒厳令の裏読み

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 16 Dec 2024.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: The Hidden Meaning of the Martial Law in South Korea, is included. Thank you.

If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

There are no comments so far.