Martial law declared in South Korea

[emx]

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn38321180et

[hullexile]

Are there any safeguards in place or does the president have unlimited power?

[Hkemail888]

It was inevitable. Nothing else to stop the proliferation of commercial boyband / girlband “music”

[hullexile]

So martial law must be lifted if there is a majority vote to do so in the National Assembly

BUT

The military have banned all parliamentary activity so they can't hold the vote.

[Cornmeal]

Messed up. Just chatting with friends there and they've no idea what's going on, just watching the news, no local government announcements yet...

[Cornmeal]

Messed up. Just chatting with friends there and they've no idea what's going on, just watching the news, no local government announcements yet...

National Assembly has "cancelled" the declaration of martial law... Let's see what tomorrow brings.

[shri]

That did not last long. Like cornmeal says ... Let's see what happens today.

From the BBC

The US says it had no advance warning Yoon would declare martial law.

It is not entirely clear whether Secretary of State Antony Blinken - currently in Brussels - was able to speak to his counterpart during the height of this crisis.

Now Yoon has said he will reverse his order I think Washington is wondering what an earth has happened - and will be rapidly reassessing how reliable the leadership of an ally it considers a bedrock of democratic stability in the region actually is.

[Cornmeal]

Yoon is toast, expect protests to grow if he doesn't step down. Defense minister who backed it also gone... Crazy that troops were deployed though.

Cameras are stronger than guns? The entire martial law process is filmed and shared in real time by the entire nation.
2024-12-04 08:31

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jun-tae = The entire process of martial law that took place during the 155 minutes from President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law on the 4th to the National Assembly's approval of the motion to lift martial law was shared in real time with the entire nation through social networking services (SNS).

Immediately after martial law was declared, citizens holding their smartphones rushed to the National Assembly, and photos and videos of restricted access to the National Assembly, military helicopters flying into the National Assembly, and fully armed martial law troops entering the National Assembly quickly spread through group KakaoTalk chatrooms.

The situation inside the National Assembly, which is difficult for the general public to access, was also revealed without filtering through politicians broadcasting in real time on YouTube.The YouTube live broadcast of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, entering the National Assembly through a 'Woldam' was watched by 2.38 million people.

The personal YouTube channel of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, who presided over the plenary session of the National Assembly, also exceeded 600,000 viewers.Some say that, unlike in the past, the lifting of martial law could have been achieved without major conflict as the public watched the 'martial law uproar' last night.

Kim Baek-young, a professor of sociology at Seoul National University, said, “The last martial law, 45 years ago, would have been easy to control the media because the entire situation could not be shared in real time.” He added, “It is questionable whether this emergency martial law itself was carried out with sufficient preparation, but the situation was quickly resolved. “I think it’s thanks to the entire nation watching,” he said.

https://m.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20241204...s_view_swipe01

[Cornmeal]

scenes from last night, troops entering National Assembly, armoured vehicles on the streets, members of Nat'A clashing with armed troops....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q8cJFuvNpo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qiE0sfS3TM

[hullexile]

Is it accurate to say democracy in South Korea comes out of this stronger than before? It received a threat to it and defeated it quickly and firmly.