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On Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law,” accusing the country’s opposition of controlling the parliament, sympathizing with North Korea, and paralyzing the government with anti-state activities.
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Yoon made the announcement in a televised briefing, vowing to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.”
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What is martial law?
Martial law is a temporary military takeover of a designated area, replacing civilian government and suspending civil legal processes. It’s usually declared during times of war, civil unrest, natural disasters or military coups.
According to the Korean media site Maeil, the South Korean constitution allows for security martial law and emergency martial law.
The former is described as “a relatively low level, with the aim of maintaining national safety or public order.”
Emergency martial law is a stronger stage, putting a martial law commander in charge of all administrative and judicial affairs within the martial law area. They may also take special measures against arrest, detention, seizure, search, residence, relocation, media, publication, assembly, association, or collective action when necessary for military purposes.
Certain crimes within the emergency martial law area are tried in military courts.
What does this mean for South Korea?
It wasn’t immediately clear how Yoon’s step would affect the country’s governance and democracy. The move drew immediate opposition from politicians, including the leader of the president’s own conservative party, Han Dong-hoon, who called the decision “wrong” and vowed to “stop it with the people.” Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, called Yoon’s announcement “illegal and unconstitutional.”
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The BBC subsequently reported that South Korea’s parliament met and voted to block the president’s move. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik submitted a resolution requesting the lifting of martial law around 1 a.m. local time, and the resolution was passed with 190 of 300 members of the ruling and opposition parties in attendance, with all present in favour.
Further reports say there have been clashes between protesters and security forces who have been trying to barricade the National Assembly.
Has this happened in South Korea before?
Yes. Martial law was declared in South Korea in 1979, during the Busan-Masan uprising, a series of student protests and other demonstrations against the rule of Park Chung Hee, who had seized power in a 1961 coup.
Hee declared martial law on Oct. 18, 1979. However, he was assassinated a week later, on Oct. 26. His successor, Choi Kyu-hah, again declared martial law the following May during further protests over his rule. He was forced out of office in August, and a new president was elected in September.
Prior to that, emergency martial law was declared on several other occasions in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as during and before the Korean War (1950-1953).
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Has Canada ever invoked martial law?
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the last time martial law was enacted in Canada was in 1918, during anti-conscription riots in Quebec City. The government also used the War Measures Act at the time, a federal law adopted in 1914, invoked in Quebec in 1970 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and replaced by the more limited Emergencies Act in 1988.
The Emergencies Act was invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2022 during the Freedom Convoy protests. It should be noted that the Emergencies Act is not the same as martial law, as it does not allow for military control of the government.
— With files from The Associated Press
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