Tag: South Korea

Here is another interesting article from the Joong Ang Ilbo which explains the perspective a ROK Army brigade commander had on the night of the martial law attempt. He thought his troops were responding to a terrorist attack on the national assembly. Once the situation became more clear what was going on he had his troops retreat:

Brig. Gen. Lee Sang-hyun, head of the 1st Airborne Brigade of Korea’s Special Warfare Command

The 1st Airborne Brigade of Korea’s Special Warfare Command was the unit that was directly dispatched to the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law Tuesday night. 
  
Two battalions, consisting of about 250 soldiers in total, were deployed to Yeouido at the time. About 210 soldiers entered the parliamentary grounds while the rest entered the main building of the National Assembly. 
  
“The upper commanders told us to take the lawmakers out of the [National Assembly] even if it means breaking the doors or cutting electricity,” said Brigadier General Lee Sang-hyun, commander of the 1st Airborne Brigade, in a phone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. “I was shocked.” (…………….)

At first, I thought there had been a terrorist attack. No one knew what was going on even in our intelligence team. Then I remembered that Kwak had ordered me ‘not to distribute live ammunition to the soldiers’ while giving instructions for the deployment. That made me think it might not be a terror situation. (…….)

The battalion commander said National Assembly aides are confronting them, blocking their path by stacking objects. The commander said the 707th Special Mission Group were also alongside them, adding that it seems strange that civilians are blocking their way because if it is a terror attack they would make way for the soldiers to get inside.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but he ultimately had his troops retreat after being told to break down doors and pull lawmakers out of the National Assembly.

The Joong Ang Ilbo has a gun rundown of events that happened the night President Yoon declared martial law. Even the conservative Joong Ang Ilbo believes illegal acts were committed:

Commander Kwak Jong-geun from the Army Special Warfare Command, center, talks during an interview with Democratic Party Rep. Kim Byung-joo, left, streamed on Kim’s YouTube channel on Friday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

It turned out that Yoon made direct calls to the commanders of the Army Special Warfare Command and Capital Defense Command (CDC) to confirm the movements of troops. It was also revealed that former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun ordered the commanders to stand by even before the martial law declaration and deploy the armed forces prior to the issuance, which could also be seen as an attempt to take control of the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, led by a few figures in key roles under Yoon’s authority. 
  
Based on the testimonies of relevant figures at the National Assembly and media interviews, it is highly likely that the top-secret movements by those chosen by the president were carried out with total disregard for the chain of command, even before the decree came into force. In other words, some illegal acts may have been committed. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

Here is why the martial law attempt failed:

Lieutenant Generals Kwak Jong-geun of the Army Special Warfare Command and Lee Jin-woo of the Capital Defense Command stated that they received a standby order from former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun both before and after Yoon’s proclamation of martial law.  
  
They added that Yoon was involved in the process of ordering the movement of troops. This could be an important clue in determining who is responsible for the armed forces deployment as the order bypassed the martial law commander, who has full command in a martial law situation. (………)

“Through a call, I was ordered by Kim to secure the National Assembly facilities and National Election Commission facilities, as well as to mobilize armed forces to control those,” Kwak added in the interview. 
  
The lieutenant general said he was also ordered to pull out lawmakers from the plenary session, but he “did not respond due to the certain illegality.”

The martial law attempt has caused a political crisis in South Korea, but one thing ROK citizens should be proud of is that their military did not go along with this attempt to silence the democratically elected opposition. If Lt. Gen. Kwak obeyed the order and fully sealed off the National Assembly and NEC we might be in a very different Korea right now. Fortunately he did not.

I would think what President Yoon is likely trying to negotiate is an exit where he is arrested by whatever future administration takes power. Over the coming days we should learn more on how this is all going to play out, but for now it looks like Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon are calling the shots for South Korea:

Ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon vowed Sunday to minimize the fallout from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law declaration with the president’s “early” and “orderly” departure.

The move came a day after a motion to impeach Yoon fell through due to a lack of quorum, with all but three PPP lawmakers boycotting the vote.

“Through an orderly early departure of the president, we will minimize the chaos for the Republic of Korea and its people, stabilize the political situation and restore liberal democracy,” Han said at the PPP headquarters in western Seoul. 

The party leader stressed that the majority of the public believes that Yoon should step down, as he is unable to govern normally for the remainder of his term.

In what appeared to be an attempt to ease concern among the public and the international community, he said the president will not take part in state affairs, including diplomacy, even before his departure.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t see how President Yoon stays in power because this is clearly a hint from the PPP leader that they will join the opposition in impeachment if he doesn’t suspend his Presidential powers:

The leader of the ruling party said Friday that President Yoon Suk Yeol needs to be swiftly suspended from exercising power, revealing that Yoon ordered the arrests of prominent politicians during his aborted martial law declaration.

Han Dong-hoon of the People Power Party (PPP) said there is a possibility that the president may again take a “radical” action like the botched declaration of martial law if Yoon clings to the presidential power. 

“Given the newly revealed facts, I believe it is necessary to promptly suspend President Yoon Suk Yeol from his duties to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han told an emergency meeting of the party’s leadership at the National Assembly, referring to South Korea by its official name. 

Han pointed out it was confirmed Thursday that Yoon had instructed Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung to detain key political figures, accusing them of being “anti-state” forces, and had even mobilized intelligence to detain them. (Yonhap)

You can read more at the link.

It appears Korean business owners are expecting the Trump administration to use tariffs on ROK exports if they are this concerned:

More than 8 out of 10 South Korean companies expect Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president will have a negative impact on the national economy, a survey showed Sunday.

In the annual survey on 239 companies with at least 30 employees on their management, 82 percent said the Korean economy will be negatively affected by the protectionist policy of the incoming second Trump administration as it has high dependence on exports, according to the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF).

Only 7.5 percent answered the Korean economy will benefit from his reelection thanks to his China policy, expected to be aimed at curbing the growth of the world’s second-largest economy.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Democratic Party would need to get 8 votes from President Yoon’s People Power Party to impeach him. It will be interesting to see what the PPP does because its leadership has clashed with Yoon as well. If the PPP decides to support impeachment they are essentially handing the Presidency to Lee Jae-myung and the Korean left. However if the PPP does decide to support impeachment I can’t really blame them because the martial law attempt was preposterous:

 President Yoon Suk Yeol has come under growing attacks from the main opposition party to face impeachment or charges of treason, in the wake of his short-lived attempt to impose martial law that was blocked by the National Assembly. (Yonhap)

You can read more at the link, but any treason charges is going to depend on if the Constitutional Court finds that what Yoon did was Constitutional or not.

I don’t get what Yoon was thinking declaring martial law knowing full well the Democratic Party who holds a majority in the National Assembly can just vote to end it. We all know the DP is conducting the impeachments in effort to protect their leader Lee Jae-myung from prosecution, but their had to be better response options than martial law:

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, accusing the nation’s opposition of paralyzing the government with “anti-state activities,” but the National Assembly voted to lift the decree hours later.

“Martial law is aimed at eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom,” Yoon said in an emergency national address televised live in late Tuesday.

It marks the first declaration of emergency martial law in South Korea since 1979.

The surprise announcement came after the opposition Democratic Party (DP) railroaded a downsized budget bill in the parliamentary budget committee, and submitted impeachment motions against a state auditor and the chief prosecutor.

Under the Constitution, the president can declare martial law in response to military needs during times of war, armed conflict, a national emergency, or when public safety and order require it. 

Following the address, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who was named as leader of martial law command, announced a decree banning all political activities, including protests and activities by political parties. 

At at around 1 a.m, Wednesday, the 300-member National Assembly convened a plenary session to demand that Yoon lift martial law, with the resolution approved with 190 members present and 190 votes in favor. 

With the motion’s passage, the martial law declaration is void, according to the parliamentary speaker’s office. (Yonhap)

You can read more the link, but Yoon was already very unpopular and this martial law decree will likely make him even more deeply disliked in Korea.