South Koreaʼs Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun resigned amid the decision to impose martial law and asked for forgiveness from the public for his actions.
This was reported by a number of Korean media with reference to the ministerʼs words.
"As minister of national defense, I feel full responsibility and apologize for causing public confusion and concern regarding martial law," Kim Yong Hyun said.
It was he who suggested to President Yoon Seok Yeol to declare martial law, Korean media write.
"All soldiers on martial law duty followed the ministerʼs instructions," Kim Yong Hyun said.
According to him, the domestic political and security situation in the country remains difficult, but the military will maintain constant combat readiness and support national defense and public safety.
What preceded
Yoon Seok Yeol declared martial law in the country on the night of December 3-4 to "protect the constitutional order" — the first time since the 1980s. The reason was that the opposition Democratic Party of South Korea, which has a majority in parliament, rejected the governmentʼs budget proposal and decided to impeach the state auditor and the chief prosecutor.
An hour later, South Koreaʼs parliament passed a resolution calling for martial law to be lifted. 190 MPs out of 190 who took part in the vote spoke in favour of the decision. In total, South Korea has 300 MPs, but only 190 of them were able to get into the parliament building, despite being surrounded by soldiers storming the National Assembly building.
After that, the South Korean government supported the "plan to lift martial law" demanded by the parliament. The office of the countryʼs prime minister reported that the proposal was approved at 04:30 local time. Martial law lasted for about six hours.
When the parliamentarians adopted the resolution, people sang the national anthem and applauded in the streets. According to preliminary estimates, four thousand citizens gathered near the parliament building. Korean trade union flags could be seen in the crowd. The head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Yang Kyung Soo took to the podium and announced an indefinite general strike until President Yoon Seok Yeol resigns.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party Park Chan Dae said that the South Korean president will not be able to avoid accusations of treason and should "immediately resign". The Democratic Party won 184 seats out of 300 in the National Assembly in the April 2024 parliamentary elections, significantly weakening the countryʼs conservative President Yoon Seok Yeol.
Six opposition parties have already submitted a draft law on the impeachment of President Yoon Seok Yeol.
- South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol has been unpopular since taking office in 2022. An online petition for his resignation, which was submitted on June 20, 2024, gained more than 811 000 signatures in ten days.
- Yoon Seok Yeol has low approval ratings in the country, particularly due to rising food and housing prices, labour conflicts and a sharp drop in the birth rate. The presidentʼs reputation has also been under fire over a hidden camera video of First Lady Kim Keon Hee allegedly accepting a $2 200 Dior bag as a gift.
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