Multiple branches of South Korea's military on Friday attempted to impose martial law for the second time this week, after rumors spread that President Yun Seok-Yeol may try to invoke martial law ahead of a scheduled impeachment vote. He assured the people that this would not happen. for saturday.
A senior military official, Gen. Kwak Jeong-geun, went further, telling lawmakers on Friday that even if Mr. Yoon tried to declare martial law, the Army's Special Warfare Command would ignore him. According to to Korea JoongAng Ilbo.
An unnamed senior official at the Defense Department announced a similar commitment to ignore executive orders if the president imposes military rule on the country.
Some members of the left-wing Democratic Party and a group called the Korea Military Human Rights Center proposed Yun announced on Friday that he may try to declare military rule a second time before being impeached, following multiple denials and assurances that the military would not follow orders even if he tried. caused.
Yonhap News reported, “If there is a request to declare martial law again, the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will not approve it.'' quotation A Ministry of Defense official says: Yonhap News reported that the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) itself said it would not submit to martial law, but stressed that it would not declare it a second time.
Acting Minister of Defense Kim Seong-ho said “Rumors about signs of another martial law declaration are not true,” he said at an emergency press conference on Friday.
“Even if martial law were declared, the Ministry of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) would never accept it,” he said. promised.
Kim Sun-ho was replaced on Thursday by Kim Young-hyeon, who served as defense minister for many years after Yoon tendered his resignation. Kim Yong-hyun, a high school classmate of Mr. Yoon, is rumored to have been the only cabinet minister informed of the martial law plans before it was implemented. Some reports even suggest that Kim may be the originator of the idea.
The conservative Mr. Yun appeared on television late Tuesday to declare martial law, a shocking announcement that almost no one in the country, including many of Mr. Yun's inner circle, had expected and had not been prepared in advance. I wasn't informed. Yun argued that martial law was necessary to counter left-wing sabotage in the National Assembly, and that the government had been infiltrated by “North Korean communist forces” and “unscrupulous pro-North Korean anti-national forces.” However, he did not name the suspect at all. The intruder or provided evidence of these claims.
The declaration sparked disgust and opposition from all corners of South Korean politics, including Yoon's own People's Power Party (PPP), which quickly moved to distance itself from the announcement. Lawmakers used their constitutional authority to storm parliament to vote against martial law, pushing their way through lines of soldiers sent to enforce the ban on political activity. Congress unanimously voted against martial law, and Yun rescinded the order minutes later. Mr. Yoon has not addressed the public since then.
Even in compliance with this order, the military does not seem to have enforced the ban on entry to parliament very strongly, with unarmed lawmakers in suits watching over crowds of heavily armed young soldiers vote against martial law. I managed to prevent it from causing confusion. Military commander Kwak said on Friday that he had refused to comply with orders to disband the talks.
“We determined that dragging the members out was clearly illegal and constituted insubordination, but they did not follow orders.”
Yun is scheduled to vote on impeachment on Saturday. To pass and remove him from power, two-thirds of parliament would need to vote in favor, which would require eight PPP member states to vote to remove their president. .
Original PPP opposed Instead of impeachment, they are proposing to pass a constitutional amendment to shorten the term of office, thereby removing Yun from office before the end of his term. But by Friday, at least one PPP lawmaker had indicated he would vote in favor of impeachment, and party leader Han Dong-hoon told reporters that Yoon must vacate the presidency as soon as possible.
Mr. Han said, “It is difficult to change the party's position on the impeachment resolution against Mr. Yoon, but my opinion is that Mr. Yoon should be suspended.'' saidAccording to Korea JoongAng Ilbo, He said, “I have not heard anything that would overturn the suspension of Yun Seok-Yeol from her presidential duties.''
Mr. Han made the comments after meeting with Mr. Yun on Friday and after reports surfaced on Tuesday that Mr. Yun, along with other political leaders, had ordered Mr. Han's arrest.
In addition to being impeached, Yun is also under police investigation for treason against martial law. The Korean Reconstruction Party filed criminal charges against Yoon this week. Police confirmed that an investigation is underway into whether Yoon committed any criminal acts that exceeded his constitutional authority.
