President Yeol says martial law declared to protect country from \u201cthreat of North Korean communist forces\u201d
\n SEOUL
\nSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television.
\nYoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to safeguard free and constitutional order, saying opposition parties have taken hostage of the parliamentary process to throw the country into a crisis.
\n\u201cI declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,\u201d Yoon said.
\nHe did not say in the address what specific measures will be taken.
\nYoon cited a motion by the country\u2019s opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, this week to impeach some of the country\u2019s top prosecutors and its rejection of a government budget proposal.
\nThe surprise move comes as Yoon\u2019s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to bicker over next year\u2019s budget bill.
\nOpposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.
\n\u201cOur National Assembly 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,\u201d Yoon said.
\nHe accused opposition lawmakers of cutting \u201call key budgets essential to the nation\u2019s core functions, such as combatting drug crimes and maintaining public security […] turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.\u201d
\nYoon went on to label the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as \u201canti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime\u201d and called his decision \u201cinevitable\u201d.
\n\u201cI will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible.\u201d
\nHe did not say in the address what specific measures will be taken. Yonhap news agency reported that the entrance to the parliament building was blocked.
\n\u201cTanks, armored personnel carriers, and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country,\u201d Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, which has the majority in parliament, said in a livestream online.
\n\u201cThe economy of the Republic of Korea will collapse irretrievably. My fellow citizens, please come to the National Assembly,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Yeol says martial law declared to protect country from \u201cthreat of North Korean communist forces\u201d SEOUL South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in an unannounced late night address broadcast live on YTN television. Yoon said he had no choice but to resort to such a measure in order to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-447237","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n