Author: China Business News Pan Yinru

“I didn’t expect to see this day in Korea.” Late at night on December 3, many Koreans told the reporter through social media China Business News reporter.

According to CCTV news reports, on the evening of December 3rd local time, South Korean President Yin Xiyue suddenly announced the implementation of "emergency martial law" during a live TV broadcast.

A large number of Koreans gathered in front of the National Assembly to demand the withdrawal of the emergency martial law order (picture source : CCTV News)

However, in the early morning of the 4th, due to the dominance of opposition forces, Congress overturned the president’s martial law order. The martial law troops subsequently withdrew. The once tense situation was resolved.

When asked about South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue's declaration of emergency martial law, U.S. President Biden said that he had not yet received a comprehensive briefing on the matter and was learning about the situation.

A spokesman for the White House Security Council said in a statement that when South Korea’s president issued emergency martial law, he “did not notify” Biden in advance and the White House did not receive the notification.

Late at night on the 3rd, Yin Xiyue listed a number of reasons, saying that the opposition parties were bullying Congress and disrupting the parliament, saying that they would eliminate "anti-forces" in South Korea.

The martial law proclamation issued by the martial law commander shows that all activities will be prohibited from 23:00 on the 3rd, and he also stated that the daily life of ordinary people will be protected to the greatest extent.

At the same time, the Embassy in South Korea reminds citizens in South Korea to stay calm, pay attention to changes in South Korea's political situation, strengthen safety awareness, reduce unnecessary outings, express opinions cautiously, and abide by official decrees issued by South Korea.

After Yoon Seok-yue issued an emergency speech, the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, urgently summoned its members to the National Assembly to discuss how to respond to the emergency martial law order issued by Yoon Seok-yue. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, called on the people to go to the National Assembly. He said that "Yin Xiyue's martial law order is unconstitutional and anti-Japanese martial law."

In the early morning of the 4th, the South Korean Congress held an emergency meeting and voted on "requiring the lifting of emergency martial law." 190 members attended the meeting, and 170 members voted in favor. South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik subsequently declared the emergency martial law invalid.

‌The Korean National Assembly has a total of 300 seats. In the 2024 South Korean parliamentary election, the largest opposition party, the Common Democratic Party, won 175 seats, occupying a majority. The ruling Power Party won 108 seats.

Article 77, Paragraph 5 of the Korean Constitution stipulates: "If the National Assembly requests the lifting of martial law with the approval of more than half of the registered members, the President shall lift martial law." Article 11 of the Korean Martial Law Law stipulates: "When the National Assembly requests the lifting of martial law, When martial law is imposed, the president should immediately lift it. "

Han Zhong explained to China Business News that the president issued a martial law order without going through Congress.It's against the constitution.

According to CCTV News, at around 4:27 a.m. local time on the 4th, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue announced through a live broadcast at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, that he had decided to accept the request of Congress and lift martial law. This was just over 6 hours after he announced the implementation of martial law at 22:25 on the 3rd.

In the impression of Korean Kim Yunjun, the last so-called “emergency martial law” dates back to 1980. “I don’t think there is a reason to issue martial law now. . Ordinary people, politicians, or the media are all confused.”

As of press time, South Korea’s Ministry of Education stated that classes will resume as normal on the 4th.

In Kim Yunjun’s view, Yoon Seok-yue’s support rate is currently bottoming out, and the opposition Democratic Party has frequently launched investigations against him and the “First Lady.” “Maybe these various factors have pushed him into a corner. , made this move that seems crazy to the outside world."

The latest poll results released by the Korean-Italian survey agency on November 29 show that Yin Xiyue's support rate is 19%, which continues to hover at a low level; the disapproval rate is 72%, which has been at 70% for several consecutive weeks. Above the high position. At the beginning of this month, Yin Xiyue's approval rating fell to 17%, the lowest since he took office.

Poll results show that Yin Xiyue's poor performance in the economic and people's livelihood fields, his wife's involvement in scandals, and his poor performance in the diplomatic field are the main reasons for some respondents' negative evaluations.

Just a few days before the promulgation of martial law, the struggle between the ruling party and the opposition parties in South Korea's political arena once again became intense. On November 29, the Special Committee on Budget and Final Accounts of the Korean National Assembly held a plenary meeting and voted to pass the budget reduction bill in the absence of members of the ruling Power Party. This is the first time in South Korea's constitutional history that the opposition party handles the budget alone. The budget passed that day was 4.1 trillion won less than the 677.4 trillion won budget submitted. The cuts include special activity expenses for the President’s Secretariat and Security Office, specific work funds for the Prosecutor’s Office and the Supervisory Office, and special activity expenses.

It is worth noting that even within Yin Xiyue’s ruling party, not all voices support his martial law. Shortly after Yin Xiyue announced the "emergency martial law", Han Dongxun, a representative of South Korea's ruling party, said that the "emergency martial law" was wrong and said that "we will stop it together."