Newsletter Extra: What Just Happened in South Korea?
South Korea's president declares martial law as democracies around the world face crisis.
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This was nuts. South Korea’s democratic government was in freefall today, after President Yoon declared martial law in a late night TV address. Soon troops blockaded the country’s National Assembly. Video showed legislators, undeterred, climbing walls to enter the building and vote to undo the declaration and restore democracy. Martial law has now been lifted, but the chaos is far from over. Why did this happen in South Korea, a seemingly stable democratic country? And how is this instability reflected around the world? South Korea isn’t the only democratic country grappling with deep unrest at the moment. All this warrants a newsletter extra.
Martial Law in South Korea:
Not Taking Democracy For Granted: Late night South Korea time, the country’s democratically elected and quite unpopular president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law. It gave him sweeping powers, including to ban “all political activities” and control the media. The declaration lasted less than 8 hours and shocked pretty much everyone. Yoon warned neither the U.S. nor the leader of his own party, the People Power Party, beforehand, and both sharply criticized the stunning move. Quickly, thousands of protestors took to the streets and members of the National Assembly called for a vote to reverse the declaration of martial law. Photos and videos showed military troops blockading the National Assembly building in an apparent attempt to prevent politicians from entering to vote. Citizens helped members of the National Assembly
