"When President Yoon Suk-yeol went live on South Korean TV Tuesday night, few expected him to impose martial law. The last time a leader in Seoul did the same was nearly half a century ago, in 1979, amid several decades of authoritarian rule, which ended in 1987."
"Many South Koreans have vivid memories of this, as disturbing images of men in military gear, helicopters and tanks descending on the National Assembly in Seoul harked back to a time of military junta most in the country have no interest in returning to."
"In his TV address on Tuesday, Yoon blamed alleged pro-North Korean and anti-state forces for trying to destabilise the country. While he provided no evidence of specific Pyongyang's meddling as part of his reasoning, he effectively pointed the finger at opposition parties who had been blocking his policies and even tried to impeach some of his appointees."
"Ultimately, this sentiment prevailed: a unanimous 190-0 National Assembly vote to end martial law and a mere six hours later, the president rescinded his order by 4:30 am local time."
Collection
[
|
...
]