Martial law for one night: how stable is South Korea?
In a surprise move, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law during a televised speech on Tuesday evening. He justified the decision by saying that the opposition sympathised with North Korea and was deliberately sabotaging his government. Just a few hours later the country's parliament voted in favour of lifting martial law, and the president subsequently withdrew it. Europe's press takes stock.
Just short of a coup d'état
Helsingin Sanomat believes that the danger of a military coup has been averted for the time being:
“The proclamation of martial law looks like a move by the president aimed at ending a political stalemate. It could even be described as an attempted coup d'état. ... The army was able to maintain the state of emergency for a few more hours despite the parliamentary decision. If it had held out longer with the support of the president, it would have effectively been a military coup. With the president's change of heart this morning and the lifting of the state of emergency, this danger seems to have been averted.”
President at an impasse
Aside from making increasing use of his veto power recently President Yoon was at a loss as to what steps he should take, observes Tvnet:
“The president does not have power of veto over decisions on the national budget, meaning that disagreements between parliament and the government have reached an impasse now that next year's budget has to be passed. .. Whether Yoon Suk-yeol's risky decision to impose martial law could have positive consequences for his policies or party is hard to predict at this stage. So far, South Korean media are reporting that the move has further undermined the confidence of both the political elite and the public in the president, and that there will be calls for his impeachment.”
A grave miscalculation
Yoon has gone too far, says The Economist:
“His move went far beyond the bounds of normal political activity in democratic South Korea, evoking instead the tactics of Park Chung-hee, a military dictator who ruled the country in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Yoon seemingly hoped to save his administration. Instead, he has almost certainly sealed his own downfall. If he does not resign himself, parliament will probably move to impeach him. ... The foreign-policy implications of a change in power in Seoul would be vast - and come at a sensitive time, as Donald Trump prepares to take office in America and North Korea takes an ever more hostile stance towards the South.”
Stress test for democracy
Bogusław M. Majewski, former Polish ambassador to Singapore and diplomat at the US and Brussels, sees South Korea's democracy being put to the test in Onet.pl:
“This is the tenth time martial law that has been imposed since South Korea was founded in 1948. Each time it was a reaction to internal tensions. But the last time it was imposed was 43 years ago. This means that almost two generations of Koreans have gone through life without any awareness of what martial law is, what the suspension of political rights, constitutional bodies and freedom of expression means. ... The next few days will show whether democracy in South Korea is strong enough to stand up to a dictatorship.”