Thread: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law

Riot police have blocked South Korean MPs from entering the country’s parliament building in Seoul after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday.
In a surprise televised address to the nation, Yoon Suk-yeol said North Korean threats and “anti-state forces” had forced him to take the draconian measure.
Martial law normally means government by military rule and the suspension of parliament and ordinary law. South Korea’s military has said that all parliamentary activities and parliamentary parties are now banned.
It comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party are locked at an impasse over next year’s budget bill.
“Our National Assembly [South Korean parliament] has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” said Mr Yoon.
He went on to call the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” and said his martial law decision was “inevitable”.

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BBC rolling thread.

Yoon has been a lame duck president since the latest general election when the opposition won a landslide in parliament.
He was not able to pass the laws he wanted, instead, he was reduced to vetoing desperately any bills that the opposition had been passing.
Yoon is also mired in several scandals, mainly one around his wife, who is accused of corruption. She is also accused of influence peddling. The opposition has been trying to launch a special investigation against her.
This week, the opposition slashed budgets that the government and ruling party had put forward - and the budget bill cannot be vetoed.
In the same week, the opposition is moving to impeach cabinet members, mainly the head of the government audit agency, for failing to investigate the first lady.
Yoon has gone for the nuclear option - he claims it is to restore order when "anti-state" forces he says are trying to paralyse the country.

Protests outside South Korea'''s parliament after President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law - live updates - BBC News

One hopes he will do the decent thing and resign. Surely his position is now untenable.

All 190 lawmakers present vote to lift martial law

published at 23:22 3 December

David Oh
BBC Korean Service, reporting from Seoul
We can bring you more detail now on how South Korea's parliament voted.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik submitted a resolution requesting the lifting of martial law around 01:00 local time.
The resolution was passed with 190 of 300 members of the ruling and opposition parties in attendance, with all present in favour.

Military says martial law will be maintained until lifted by president

The South Korean military says it will maintain martial law until it is lifted by President Yoon Suk Yeol, despite the nation's parliament voting to block its enforcement, according to the country's national broadcaster.
It follows clashes between protesters and the security forces who tried to barricade the National Assembly.

-and-

The speaker of the National Assembly, Woo Won-Shik, has officially notified the president’s office and the defence ministry.
Legally, the president must now lift martial law, but politically, we must wait and see. There's been no word from Yoon since he addressed the nation.
This was a high stakes gamble for Yoon and he cannot afford to lose.
The lawmakers are staying put in the Assembly Hall for now.

There are a few days when LOS seems more democratic than most of Asia?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

This was a high stakes gamble for Yoon and he cannot afford to lose.

A career fail.

Pres You'll Suck Dick forced to swallow

South Korea has woken up to the aftermath of a turbulent night in politics - and we're still expecting a lot to happen today as the country figures out what will happen next.
Let's take a look at where things stand:

• In a late-night TV address, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in the democratic nation, arguing that the move was needed to protect the country from North Korean elements and "anti-state forces"

• Less than two hours later, with 190 of its 300 members present, South Korea's parliament voted down the measure and ruled the martial law order invalid

• Soon after, President Yoon reversed course and the martial law was lifted

• Large demonstrations took place overnight outside the parliament, with many South Koreans expressing relief that the martial law announcement was taken back

• Earlier this morning, Yoon's staff offered to resign en masse - although the president himself is yet to make a public appearance

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States, a key strategic and defence partner for South Korea, continues to expect "political disagreements to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law"
  
  

South Korean lawmakers are reportedly moving to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for last night's events.
It wouldn't be the first time that a South Korean president is impeached, and comes less than 10 years after then-President Park Geun-hye was impeached after being accused of helping a friend commit extortion in 2016.
The country's impeachment process is relatively straightforward.
To do so, more than two-thirds of South Korea's 300-member National Assembly must vote to impeach - at least 201 votes.
Once the impeachment is approved, a trial is held before the Constitutional Court - a nine-member council that oversees South Korea's branches of government.
If six of the court's members vote to sustain the impeachment, the President is removed from office.

Now known as Yoon the loon
.

Yoon can't do a coup like the old time Thais when you can't find your way loon.

Thailand hub of democracy prevention, ban individuals rig or delay elections, kill or jail opponents.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested, six weeks after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.

A motorcade of black SUVs was seen leaving the gates of his hillside residence where he had been holed up for weeks behind barbed wire and a small army of personal security.

Mr Yoon said the "rule of law has completely collapsed" in a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of an anti-corruption agency.

He said he was complying with the detention warrant to prevent clashes between police and the presidential security service.

Mr Yoon's lawyers had tried to persuade investigators not to execute the arrest warrant, saying the president would voluntarily appear for questioning, but the agency declined.

Police had been trying to access the president's official office to detain him but had become engaged in a standoff with Mr Yoon's security service.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol finally arrested after attempt to impose martial law | World News | Sky News

Be a splendid irony if he was fed to the dogs!