Source: Niu Tanqin
No one expected that the situation in South Korea would change overnight, and President Yoon Seok-yeol turned the table.
Late at night on December 3, he suddenly announced an emergency curfew in South Korea.
A friend asked: What is the concept of martial law?
That is a major event that involves the foundation of the country. It involves the use of knives and guns, arresting and killing people. You know, the last time South Korea was under martial law was more than 40 years ago.
Subsequently, the South Korean army took to the streets, Seoul citizens protested, and countries around the world were shocked. But in the middle of the night, news came from the South Korean parliament that the martial law order had been overturned by the parliament.
Everything was thrilling and South Korea stayed awake all night.
This is just my personal opinion, here are 10 key questions.
Question 1: What was the trigger?
Yoon Seok-yeol accused the emergency martial law of being a "last resort" for the sustainability of the Republic of Korea. He wanted to eradicate the "Northern forces" and maintain the "free constitutional order."
In other words, the opposition party is being aggressive and he can no longer serve as president, so he has to fight a decisive battle!
But leaving these words aside, one factor that cannot be ignored is that Yoon Seok-yeol was determined to fight for his beloved.
The trigger was the bribery case of his wife, Kim Gun-hee. Kim Gun-hee accepted Dior bags, and the opposition party was holding on to it, and it was not ruled out that Kim Gun-hee would end up in jail. Yoon Seok-yeol could no longer tolerate it and directly declared martial law.
"For the woman I love, I declare myself the enemy of the whole world!"
Don’t think that such themes only appear in novels and on the screen.
Question 2: How does South Korea impose martial law?
South Korean Army General Park Ansu was appointed as the martial law commander. The martial law headquarters soon issued the martial law order No. 1: martial law will be implemented from 23:00 local time on the 3rd (22:00 Beijing time on the 3rd).
Article 1 of the Martial Law Order: The activities of the National Assembly and local councils, as well as all political activities such as party activities, political associations, rallies, demonstrations, etc. are prohibited.
What's this?
In fact, it is similar to a coup d'état.
But it is really shocking that the president personally launched a coup.
More importantly, on one side are the president and military chiefs, and on the other side are the opposition and ruling parties.
If the ruling party doesn't stand on the president's side, things will get out of control.
Question three: What do the Korean people think?
Shock, shock, and shock.
The whole world knows that South Korea’s internal strife is fierce, but it is still incredible that it is so intense that the president has to declare emergency martial law.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition party, said in a live broadcast: "Martial law is not a defense of the constitution, but a fatal blow to democracy."
A large number of people ignored the martial law order, braved the severe cold, and held protests to prevent the army from entering the parliament.
Question 4: What should the South Korean army do?
According to general martial law, the army would definitely be deployed, armed with live ammunition, and there would even be loud gunfire.
But South Korea is under martial law and the military is very cunning.
Military orders had to be executed, so special forces were dispatched; but if the law was enforced excessively, or even bloodshed occurred, they would definitely be held accountable in the future.
So, we see that Yoon Seok-yeol was very anxious, but the military was very relaxed and in fact was letting people go. A large number of lawmakers still broke into the parliament. The leader of the opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, even climbed over the wall and entered the parliament calmly while live streaming.
Very dramatic.
Question 5: What do the United States and the world think?
The US attitude is crucial.
The United States stated that it was “closely monitoring the situation.” US Deputy Secretary of State Campbell later further commented: “We are hopeful that any political dispute can be resolved peacefully in accordance with the rule of law.”
Looking at the international reaction, it is almost unanimous with shock, condemnation, calls for restraint, and demands for dialogue to resolve the issue.
This one-sidedness has exacerbated the isolation of the Yoon Seok-yeol government.
Question 6: What will the South Korean parliament do?
The National Assembly is a key force in South Korean politics.
Despite the obstruction, 190 members of Congress successfully entered the Congress, exceeding the required half of the Congress. The voting result was 190:0, lifting the martial law.
The opposition party and the ruling party, which had been fighting each other to the death in the past, put aside their past grudges, shook hands and made peace, and unanimously agreed that Yoon Seok-yeol's martial law order was invalid.
Being deserted by his friends and family, Yoon Seok-yeol completely lost.
In the early morning of the 4th, he had to withdraw the martial law troops and lift the martial law order.
Question seven: Were there any signs before this?
Actually, there are.
As early as September this year, the opposition party revealed that Yoon Seok-yeol was likely to impose martial law.
But this was considered completely absurd. The Chosun Ilbo at the time commented: Anyone with a bit of common sense would think this was nonsense. If the government declared martial law, no one in the army would obey it and the government would collapse almost immediately. Which government would commit such self-harming behavior?
Sorry, the president of South Korea does.
Question 8: What will happen to Yoon Seok-yeol?
Now is his most dangerous moment. He can either resign voluntarily and bow down; or be impeached and driven out of the presidential palace; or follow Roh Moo-hyun and close his eyes and say goodbye to life.
As long as he was alive, the matter was not over. The final result would definitely be that he would be thrown into prison.
All the scandals in the past must now be thoroughly investigated; the current emergency martial law will be completely liquidated.
Before becoming president, Yoon Seok-yeol, as prosecutor general, investigated other people; now, the new prosecutor is investigating him, and his entire family.
The price of impulsiveness.
Question 9: What do you think of the Blue House curse?
It is known to the whole world that the most dangerous job in South Korea is to be the president of South Korea.
Anyway, except for Moon Jae-in, no South Korean president has had a good ending. Some were imprisoned, some went into exile, and some committed suicide. This is called the "Blue House curse" by the outside world.
Therefore, after becoming the president of South Korea, Yoon Seok-yeol was determined not to live in the Blue House, and he took over the original Ministry of National Defense and turned it into the Presidential Palace.
The Blue House has changed, but the curse has not been broken.
Moreover, Yoon Seok-yeol's fate may be even worse. If I had known this, why would I have been the president of South Korea?
Question 10: What will happen to China-South Korea relations?
This is South Korea's internal affairs and has little impact on China-South Korea relations. We can just watch the show.
However, after Yoon Seok-yeol came to power, he took a tough stance toward the North, fawned on Japan, and followed the United States closely. The previously good China-South Korea relations fell to the bottom.
But he didn't know that after all the trouble he had, he would end up like this.
You see him building a tall building, you see him entertaining guests, and then you see his building collapse.
God is watching what you do!
Finally, let me say a few words of emotion. This was a historic night for South Korea. We saw a man risk his life for his beloved, a livestream of a man climbing over the wall to enter the National Assembly, the ruling and opposition parties opposing the president, and the helpless flowers falling. We will probably also see the president being shackled and sent to prison...
It took less than three hours from the time the president issued the martial law order to the time it was repealed by Congress.
But the fate of many people has changed completely.
No wonder Korean dramas are so exciting, because the reality in Korea is even more exciting!
Yoon Seok-yeol ah Yoon Seok-yeol.
