South Korean President declares martial law due to impeachment threat - Yonhap
Kyiv • UNN
Yun Sok Yol imposed martial law, accusing the opposition of anti-state activities. The decision was made after the Democratic Party initiated budget cuts and the impeachment of the state auditor.
President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday declared martial law in the country due to the threat of impeachment of the president. This was reported by the Yonhap agency, reports UNN.
Suk-yeol accused the opposition of "anti-state activities aimed at organizing a rebellion".
"The purpose of martial law is to eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional order of freedom," Yeol said in a television address.
This decision was made after the opposition Democratic Party passed a bill in the parliamentary budget committee to cut the budget and filed a petition for the impeachment of the state auditor and the prosecutor general.
The imposition of martial law, as reported by AP, immediately provoked opposition from politicians, including the leader of his own conservative party, Han Dong-hoon, who called the decision "wrong" and promised to "stop it together with the people".
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yeol in the 2022 presidential election, called the President's statement "illegal and unconstitutional".