Why did he move it?
There were a number of reasons. One of the top was making the presidential office more accessible by moving it from the forested area of the Blue House. Another was to a more secure location. The Ministry of Defense is well protected. And then there were some ideas about breaking with the traditional political elite, about econimic benefit for the parts of the US Army Garrison Yongsan which have been returned to South Korean government control.
Could it have been that he wanted to be closer to the military? Thinking ahead and all that.
One of the stated reasons at the time was to create a better security situation for the government. And that brings me back to the main thrust of this thread.
Reuters has the full text in English of the martial law decree. Since it’s a government announcement, I think it’s okay to post the whole thing here.
In order to protect liberal democracy from the threat of overthrowing the regime of the Republic of Korea by anti-state forces active within the Republic of Korea and to protect the safety of the people, the following is hereby declared throughout the Republic of Korea as of 23:00 on December 3, 2024:
All political activities, including the activities of the National Assembly, local councils, and political parties, political associations, rallies and demonstrations, are prohibited.
All acts that deny or attempt to overthrow the liberal democratic system are prohibited, and fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false propaganda are prohibited.
All media and publications are subject to the control of the Martial Law Command.
Strikes, work stoppages and rallies that incite social chaos are prohibited.
All medical personnel, including trainee doctors, who are on strike or have left the medical field must return to their jobs within 48 hours and work faithfully. Those who violate will be punished in accordance with the Martial Law.
Innocent ordinary citizens, excluding anti-state forces and other subversive forces, will be subject to measures to minimize inconvenience in their daily lives.
Violators of the above proclamation may be arrested, detained, and searched without a warrant in accordance with Article 9 of the Martial Law Act of the Republic of Korea (Special Measures Authority of the Martial Law Commander), and will be punished in accordance with Article 14 of the Martial Law Act (Penalties).Martial Law Commander, Army General Park An-su, Tuesday, December 3, 2024.
The Korea Herald has an unofficial translation of the order lifting martial law.
Last night at 11 p.m., I declared a state of emergency martial law with a determined will to save the nation, in response to anti-state forces that were paralyzing the essential functions of the state and undermining the liberal democratic constitutional order. However, just a moment ago, the National Assembly requested the lifting of martial law, and I have withdrawn the military forces that were deployed for martial law duties.
I will immediately accept the National Assembly’s request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet. However, I convened the Cabinet right away, but due to the early hour, the quorum has not yet been met, so I will lift the martial law as soon as the necessary members arrive.
I urge the National Assembly to immediately cease the repeated impeachment attempts, legislative manipulation, and budget abuse that have paralyzed the functions of the state. Thank you.
This article from last year from Korea JoongAng Daily has information about this. That’s actually the last I heard about the change. Here’s the meat of it:
Under the current system, all conscripts are allowed to use their cell phones for three hours a day during the weekdays, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. During the weekends, cell phones are allowed for 12 and a half hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Under the proposed new rules, the military would allow soldiers to use their phones for nearly 14 hours during the weekdays, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
As in the current system, however, soldiers won’t be permitted to use their phones when they are on duty. They also won’t be allowed to keep or use their phones during border patrols, on-duty shifts and large-scale training exercises.
The trial run will last from July to December on nearly 20 percent of all military units.
Do you want this to be a MPSIMS breaking news thread? I’d so, someone should start a companion thread in p&e and/or the pit.
Impeachment proceedings likely to begin soon:
The article mentions that there are vacancies on the Constitutional Court, so it doesn’t currently have the quorum to review an impeachment motion.
ETA: the parliamentary leader of the president’s own party is calling for impeachment, which increases the chances for the necessary 2/3 vote in the parliament .
There was a really helpful explanatory post on BlueSky:
CNN has breaking news that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has accepted the resignation of his Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
I don’t think it’ll save him at this point, but he may well be trying to go with “I only did it on the best advice of…” excuse.
Breaking news, so no more than that.
The dude’s still using the term the Orient? Oh, well.
I wantedc to post these before I went to sleep last night, but I was too tired. Here are some articles from Korea JoongAng Daily relating to this debacle.
Yoon under fire: How Korea’s impeachment process works
An impeachment of the president requires that the motion be proposed by over half of the total number of representatives of the National Assembly and be voted for by two-thirds or more of the total number of representatives.
There are 300 lawmakers in Korea, meaning that 151 or more representatives need to propose the bill, and it needs to be approved by 200 or more representatives for the Constitutional Court to start reviewing the impeachment motion.
There’s also a very good flowchart in that article.
Yoon silent after martial law lifted as schedule cleared, aides resign
Over a harrowing six-hour period, President Yoon Suk Yeol went from unexpectedly declaring emergency martial law in South Korea late Tuesday to overturning the decree after being rebuffed by parliament and facing fierce public outcry.
On Wednesday, Yoon withdrew from the public eye after giving two televised addresses watched by an anxious nation as he proclaimed martial law as a means of eradicating “antistate forces” at around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, only to lift it at 4:27 a.m. Wednesday.
Senior presidential aides, including chief of staff Chung Jin-suk, tendered their resignations en masse in the morning, hours after the order was lifted.
The resignations of the presidential aides appear to be an attempt to take responsibility for the situation surrounding the declaration of martial law amid parliamentary and public calls for Yoon to resign or be impeached over the debacle.
Opposition parties submit impeachment bill against Yoon
Six opposition parties including the Democratic Party (DP) of Korea submitted an impeachment bill against President Yoon Suk Yeol to the National Assembly at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday.
‘One of the great political errors’: World media reacts to Korea’s martial law debacle
International media described South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration to be “one of the great political errors” while analyzing major reasons to have been the political challenges he was facing rather than external threats.
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BBC reported that it soon became clear the incident has not been "spurred by external threats but by his own desperate political troubles,” and quoted an expert who warned that the situation could be “more damaging to Korea’s reputation as a democracy than even the January riots in the U.S…”
That last bit should be “than even the January riots in the U.S. were for the U.S.” The editor let that slip by.
I didn’t bother clicking on it when i saw that.
I think you guys are missing the point. The joke is that in Korea they actually hold politicians accountable when they break the law, which, to Americans, must seem like a bizarre and alien concept. The word choice was intended to imply that “law” is a foreign and exotic concept to us.
Since I didn’t click on it because of the stereotypical opening, I didn’t become aware of his argument.
Same here.
The legislature is actuality called the National Assembly, but it doesn’t matter since South Korea is a presidential republic. The Prime Minister isn’t the head of government; it’s more like a combination chief of staff and vice-president.
I’m thinking that this sentence might have been a clue that the author had his tongue in his cheek.
Of course sarcasm often doesn’t come across well in a written medium.
It was pretty apparent to me, as it clearly was to many of the respondents of the Bluesky posts such as:
Murder is actually really frowned in Japan. It goes against the traditional concept of 生きる，which means “to live”
Stranger
Yoon appears to have regained some support from his own party in Parliament, which now opposes impeachment. It would take 8 members from that party to join impeachment for the vote to have the necessary 200 votes (2/3 of the Assembly).
Police have opened a file investigating treason allegations.
Defence minister has resigned and head of the military has offered his resignation.
Leader of Yoon’s parliamentary party appears to be calling for impeachment, without expressly saying so.
Is “the Orient” problematic? “Oriental,” sure.