Power struggle with parliament U-turn in South Korea - President lifts martial law
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has imposed martial law in his home country - and soon lifted it again.
Image: dpa
Demonstrators in front of the parliament building in Seoul.
Image: dpa
Military vehicles are surrounded by police officers in front of the National Assembly. In a speech broadcast live, the President of South Korea accused the country's opposition of sympathizing with North Korea.
Image: Lee Jin-man/AP/dpa
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has imposed martial law in his home country - and soon lifted it again.
Image: dpa
Demonstrators in front of the parliament building in Seoul.
Image: dpa
Military vehicles are surrounded by police officers in front of the National Assembly. In a speech broadcast live, the President of South Korea accused the country's opposition of sympathizing with North Korea.
Image: Lee Jin-man/AP/dpa
A political rollercoaster ride in South Korea: the president initially declares martial law in a power struggle with parliament. However, this apparently successfully forces him to lift it again.
03.12.2024, 21:19
03.12.2024, 22:03
SDA
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol has announced that he will lift the martial law he imposed in the East Asian country. Yoon said in a TV appearance that the military had withdrawn and that the cabinet would meet soon.
A few hours earlier, the president had surprisingly declared martial law in the midst of a domestic political crisis. The background to the conflict is apparently a dispute over the national budget.
Yoon cited the role of the country's opposition as the reason for the state of emergency. He accused them of sympathizing with North Korea. The declared state of emergency was aimed at "wiping out pro-North Korean forces and protecting the constitutional order of freedom",
No evidence of North Korean involvement
Shortly afterwards, the National Assembly called on the President to lift the state of emergency. All 190 MPs present voted in favor of the motion. According to the latest information, Yoon will now comply.
There were no indications that the totalitarian-ruled neighboring country of North Korea was involved in the situation. Like Russia and Germany, the US government expressed concern about the developments in South Korea.
The opposition Democratic Party (DP), which has a majority in the National Assembly, passed a budget on its own in the parliamentary special committee on budget and accounts on Friday. Yoon's office then called on the left-liberal opposition to withdraw the budget plan with the reduced expenditure.
Demonstrations in front of the parliament building remained peaceful
There were demonstrations around the parliament building during the night, but they remained peaceful. The building had been blocked by the military in the meantime. Later, there were no more soldiers to be seen in front of the building, but riot police, as a reporter from the German Press Agency observed.
The German embassy in Seoul saw no immediate danger to foreigners. "As things stand at present, it is not yet possible to predict what restrictions this decision will entail for foreign nationals in the Republic of Korea. In our assessment, there is no immediate danger to the personal safety and property of foreign nationals," the embassy wrote in a message to Germans living in South Korea. In particular, there are no signs of a military conflict with North Korea.
President under domestic political pressure
Yoon has been under domestic political pressure for months. Most recently, an alleged corruption scandal involving his wife has further depressed his popularity ratings. In addition, the incumbent party is fighting with the opposition over the budget law for the coming year.
In addition, Yoon accused the parliament, which is dominated by the opposition, of undermining government business by proposing the impeachment of ministers and other high-ranking officials. Since the government took office in May 2022, the National Assembly has tabled 22 impeachment motions. This is unprecedented worldwide.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have also been rising for months. North Korea has significantly increased its missile tests over the past two years and stepped up its rhetoric against the USA and South Korea. North Korea has also sent thousands of soldiers to Russia, where they are being deployed in the recapture of the Kursk region.
