International and U.S. media have failed to report the context of the political crisis in South Korea which led conservative President Yoon Suk-Yeol to declare emergency martial law on Tuesday evening. That background includes not only the longstanding influence of pro-North Korean organizations in the South but also the growing demographic and economic influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Yoon said he would lift martial law on Wednesday morning after parliament voted to overturn the decree. Military units that were deployed to the National Assembly have also been withdrawn, added Yoon.
“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said in making the declaration on Tuesday.
Under South Korea’s constitution, the president can declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” that require the use of military force to maintain peace and order.
Communist activism has festered before, during, and after the Korean War (1950-53) and the subsequent authoritarian governments in Seoul headed by Park Chung-Hee and Chun Doo-Hwan. Long fostered by the Pyongyang regime such anti-U.S. forces are also nurtured by the Chinese Communist Party, analysts say.
Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” He said he would “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”
“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” Yoon said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences.”
WorldTribune.com columnist Donald Kirk noted that Yoon "saw a far worse danger in intractable leftist-led obstructionism, which he described on Korean television as 'anti-state activities.' His order establishing martial law reflected the suspicion that Communist Chinese agents and saboteurs have infiltrated Korean society, from the biggest conglomerates to the biggest labor unions, some controlled by leftist zealots, many of whom have never worked for a factory."
In an analysis for the NY Sun, Kirk added: "Although Korean leftists and liberals may appear bent on opposing martial law, they are not as popular as some might believe."
A commentator who goes by the name "Dr. Kim" said in a podcast: “The Chinese are trying to take over the country. Many members of the assembly are pro-North,” meaning that they are sympathetic with Kim Jong-Un's dictatorial regime.
Related: 44 years later, former South Korean spy chief confirms North Korea’s role in bloody ‘Gwangju incident’, June 23, 2024
Kirk noted that Yoon "is trying hard to get in Trump’s good graces. He’s said he’s practicing golf in hopes of meeting the president-elect on the golf course as well as at the Oval Office."
Though Yoon is not saying so, he "may have been motivated to declare martial law in anticipation of Trump’s presidency," Kirk added. "One big concern is whether Trump will want to cut down the number of American GIs in South Korea — now about 28,500, many of them headquartered at America’s biggest overseas base, Camp Humphreys, 40 miles south of Seoul."
Yoon has also been "frustrated by politicians who refused to yield to his budget requests and sought to impeach senior officials — including the man in charge of his budget and his chief prosecutor — decided, without warning, that now was the time to act," Kirk wrote.
A retired American Army colonel and analyst on Korea, David Maxwell, told The Sun that Yoon’s "lowest approval rating counterintuitively gives him the opportunity to act," meaning that Yoon may have figured he had “nothing to lose but with the hope that it will eradicate the radical left.”
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In declaring that the martial law was "invalid," National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-Shik said lawmakers opposing Yoon “will protect democracy with the people.”
Lee Jae-Myung, leader of the leftist Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) which controls parliament, said: “Democratic Party lawmakers, including me and many others, will protect our country’s democracy and future and public safety, lives and properties, with our own lives.”
Last month, a Seoul court sentenced Lee to one year in prison, suspended for two years, after finding him guilty of lying during his presidential campaign.
If upheld by the Supreme Court, Lee would lose his parliamentary seat and be barred from running in the 2027 presidential election.
The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of making false statements, violating the Public Official Election Act.
Dr. Tara O, president of the East Asia Research Center, noted that Lee's party "has been defending him by weaponizing the National Assembly, abusing its lawmaking power."
Tara O added: "So Lee is trying to avoid going to jail (or even getting a fine of ₩1 million or more, because that prohibits running for political office). If he wins, he'll likely run for president again, and may even win, which is bad."
Yoon stated in his address declaring martial law that the DPK introduced impeachment bills targeting government officials 22 times since his administration began, including 10 times since they won more seats in the April 2024 elections which the opposition charged was marred by election fraud controversy.
#SouthKorea's president declares an emergency martial law. The Democratic Party of Korea reps at the National Assembly have been abusing their power, passing anti-free speech laws, impeaching those who were upholding the law, & taking pro-N Korea stance.https://t.co/ikdiLXpXnF
— Tara O (@DrTaraO) December 3, 2024
