South Korea's democracy refused to give in. In the middle of the night on Tuesday, December 3, 190 MPs from both the majority and opposition parties, supported by an angry crowd massed in front of a National Assembly surrounded by police and military, unanimously rejected the martial law declared a few hours earlier by the conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon accepted the decision and pitifully closed his attempted coup de force, which saw South Korea return for a few hours to the nightmare of the dictatorship era that it thought had been over for almost 40 years.
The last time martial law was imposed was in 1980, in Gwangju (South). On the orders of authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan (1980-1987), paratroopers violently suppressed a pro-democracy movement. The operation left hundreds dead.
Admitting defeat, Yoon reiterated his call for the National Assembly to put an end to the "scandalous" activities which, he said, were paralyzing government functions. Faced with protests, Yoon is now threatened with impeachment. His top aides, including his chief of staff, Chung Jin-suk, and his national security adviser, Shin Won-sik, tendered their resignations. The general staff sent the troops back to their barracks.
The rule of law prevailed, and the affair ended without major incident, after six hours of heated tension in the South Korean capital. "We are relieved President Yoon has reversed course on his concerning declaration of martial law and respected the ROK [Republic of Korea, ROK, South Korea's official name] National Assembly's vote to end it," reacted Washington. "Democracy is at the foundation of the U.S.-ROK alliance, and we will continue to monitor the situation."
Yoon had declared martial law at 10:25 pm on Tuesday from his office in Seoul's Yongsan-gu district. "The Republic of Korea is like a candle in the wind; it could go out at any time. I declare martial law to protect it from the threats of the North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are shamelessly destroying the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect our free constitutional order," he justified. He criticized the parliamentary opposition for opposing his draft budget, and for voting to dismiss the head of the Audit and Inspection Council, responsible for auditing public services.
As soon as the presidential announcement was made – without the agreement of the National Assembly, which is required by law – the Ministry of Defense put the army on high alert. Armored vehicles converged on the National Assembly. Helicopters flew overhead. Soldiers were armed with live ammunition. The population was forbidden to go out from 11 pm onward.
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