South Korean President declares martial law, accuses opposition | Martial law lifted

AfonsoAlves said:
Military 100% knew of something coming in the works.

All my usual partners from ROKAF have been acting bizarre and we basically got kicked out of the country despite our planned work partnership had been planned well in advance.
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They had to know the rest of the government would oppose the martial law, surely?
 
Just looks like a last desperate attempt and everyone going along with orders half heartedly knowing it'll fail anyway.
 
‘Ooooooohh YESSSSS! Welcome to Manchester United ANTHONY MARTIAAAAA-‘

Oh, wrong martial. Sorry.
 
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik submitted a resolution requesting the lifting of martial law around 01:00 local time.

The resolution was passed with 190 of 300 members of the ruling and opposition parties in attendance, with all present in favour.
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So he was unanimously shut down despite using the military to block entry to the parliament? This makes less sense by the minute!
 
VorZakone said:
They had to know the rest of the government would oppose the martial law, surely?
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I've no idea to be honest, I think what most likely happened is the president briefed the top military commanders of his intentions, and they in turn issued orders downstairs to temporarily cease all foreign partnership projects and plans without giving the real reasons. Whole thing is just bizarre.
 
Hoping someone with legitimate insight into Korean affairs will shed some possible light on this whole situation. I dont know enough about the area myself - though In probably should given it seems only a matter of time before shit would hit the fan again in that region.
 
AfonsoAlves said:
This was not sudden. This was definetely pre-planned and people knew about it.

I was in Qatar last week, and was supposed to meet up with some of the South Korean military officials in Seoul for some consulting work, but even our meeting in Qatar was a bit weird. When we landed in Seoul, I was there for a total of 8 hours before they asked me to leave citing some pressing issues that they have to deal with and that I shouldn't be in the country.

They spoke to my employer, and then my employer flew me to Bangkok to be on "Stand-by" and they've been paying for me to piss around in Thailand with some colleagues until we can re-enter SK. :lol:
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I find this a little bit hard to believe. Not that you were were there for a job and then told to leave, but that people so widely knew about a week ago that it was explicitly why you, as a consultant, were told to leave, and yet there hasn't been a peep of it in the media and everyone was caught completely off guard. It was so secret that nobody knew about it, and yet they were going around warning foreign consultants to leave the country?
 
Scandi Red said:
I'm so confused. What was even the plan here? A constitutional coup? :lol:

What's your analysis James Bond, @AfonsoAlves ?
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Redplane said:
Hoping someone with legitimate insight into Korean affairs will shed some possible light on this whole situation. I dont know enough about the area myself - though In probably should given it seems only a matter of time before shit would hit the fan again in that region.
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Yoon is a fecking idiot is all you need to know really.
 
nimic said:
I find this a little bit hard to believe. Not that you were were there for a job and then told to leave, but that people so widely knew about a week ago that it was explicitly why you, as a consultant, were told to leave, and yet there hasn't been a peep of it in the media and everyone was caught completely off guard. It was so secret that nobody knew about it, and yet they were going around warning foreign consultants to leave the country?
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I wasn't told that "impeding martial law" was the reason we had to leave.

It was basically, "Something has come up, we need to delay this. I'll contact your office, come back another time."

EDIT - Maybe asking to leave is a bit strong, but they were like, "We can't do this now. Sorry for wasting your time." My employer also didn't know the reason, but said that they were assured that the delay wouldn't be too long hence I'm now in Thailand.
 
Scandi Red said:
Just in case: South Korea doesn't have nuclear weapons right? Because if they do then this guy might actually push the button.
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They don't have nukes. But...

Now, a growing majority of South Koreans say their country needs its own nuclear weapons instead of relying on the United States for protection. The idea, although still disavowed by the South Korean government, is increasingly becoming part of mainstream political debate.

Polls show that many South Koreans say they can no longer trust the American nuclear umbrella to guard them from North Korea. They doubt that Washington would come to their aid in the event of a conflict with North Korea now that Pyongyang is racing to develop the ability to attack American cities with nuclear warheads.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/world/asia/south-korea-nuclear-arsenal.html
 
the hea said:
So it is a military coup then.
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The National Assembly speaker has just said that South Korean troops are leaving the parliament building, the Yonhap news agency reports.

The military personnel that had been in the building earlier have now departed - but the representatives say they will stay put in case of an attempt to disband the parliament.
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So many questions. What was the guy's intentions with these so called "anti-state pro-NK elements"? Arrest everybody?
 
Back then, Yoon was prosecuting President Park Geun-hye for corruption. He succeeded. She went to prison. He made a name for himself. He later became president.Based on his personality, martial law seems like his sudden power play, possibly an emotional decision, not a calculated one -- a decision he'll regret in the morning.
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the hea said:
So it is a military coup then.
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I took a quick skim of their constitution and laws regulating martial law.

Technically they are under the command of the president and Gen Park An-su, and can't be ordered by the national assembly to do anything. With the assembly having voted to lift martial law, the president is legally bound to lift it. Any order coming from the president that has to do with martial law powers would have to be considered an illegal order and Gen Park An-su and subsequent commanders would be required to ignore them. The power to actually lift martial law technically lies soley with the president, so they can't just "lift it" without his order - but once the national assembly formally sent the demand, he can't really order the military to do anything.

So even if the military does everything according to the law - that response is expected.
 
Laurencio said:
I took a quick skim of their constitution and laws regulating martial law.

Technically they are under the command of the president and Gen Park An-su, and can't be ordered by the national assembly to do anything. With the assembly having voted to lift martial law, the president is legally bound to lift it. Any order coming from the president that has to do with martial law powers would have to be considered an illegal order and Gen Park An-su and subsequent commanders would be required to ignore them. The power to actually lift martial law technically lies soley with the president, so they can't just "lift it" without his order - but once the national assembly formally sent the demand, he can't really order the military to do anything.

So even if the military does everything according to the law - that response is expected.
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So it's pretty much a stalemate until the president lifts the martial law or the national assembly changes their vote.
 
What are the possible punishments, if this goes to court?
 
A military coup in a country where everyone and their dog have been through military service is interesting.
 
V.O. said:
Proper hate it when you wake up after having one too many and find out you've accidentally declared martial law.
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Where's those Marshmallows I ordered, and whats that tank doing on my lawn kind of thing?
 
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