What prompted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to declare martial law?

Seoul

South Koreans found their country suddenly in the grips of martial law on Tuesday night (Dec 3) after President Yoon Suk Yeol appaered on television and announced the decree, shocking the world. He blamed the opposition for the move in his address, accusing it of “anti-state” activities and calling out supposed "pro-North [Korea] forces". He also stated that martial law was needed to defend the country from nuclear-armed North Korea and to protect its free constitutional order. His address was vague and he did not name anyone or talk about a specific threat.

“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said.

What triggered the martial law in South Korea?

Yoon's address stressed that martial law was being imposed in view of external threats to the country.

However, what really brought it on was Yoon's bundle of political troubles that has only been growing since April this year. 

In the last general election, the opposition won by a landslide in parliament. Due to this, Yoon has only been a president in name, forced to bow down and accept whatever the opposition hands to him. He has not been able to pass any law, and several of his policy proposals have been blocked. The only defence available to him has been vetoing the bills the opposition had been passing.

Also Read: S Korean opposition vows to impeach president as Yoon's aides offer to resign en masse

The opposition has also been moving to impeach top prosecutors who they say have failed to take any action against Yoon’s wife, the First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who has been mired in several scandals, including the infamous Dior luxury bag controversy. 

The final political nail in the coffin for Yoon was the budget bill. The opposition significantly slashed the budgets that the government and ruling party had put forward last week. The 677 trillion won budget plan was approximately cut down by 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion).

It means fewer funds for the government’s reserve fund and activity budgets for Yoon’s office, the prosecution, the police and the state audit agency.

The problem for Yoon was that the budget bill could not be vetoed. 

Slamming the opposition, Yoon said in his address that it "has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice". He even asserted that the "National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship".

South Korea's first lady and the Dior controversy

The other massive problem facing Yoon has been his wife and her many scandals. Kim Keon-hee has been accused of several wrongdoings and the opposition has been angry with Yoon's inaction in the matter. 

Also Read: South Korean President backtracks on martial law

Last year, Korea's first lady made headlines after being accused of accepting a $2,200 Christian Dior bag as a gift. This violated South Korea’s anti-graft law which bans public officials and their spouses from receiving gifts worth more than $750.

A video filmed secretly purportedly showed a Korean American pastor, Choi Jae-young presenting a cloud blue, calfskin “Lady Dior Pouch” to Kim. “Why do you keep bringing these? Please, you don’t need to do this,” she was heard saying in the video.

She has also been accused of influence-peddling and her name has been doing the rounds in a case around stock manipulation.

Last month, Yoon apologised and said he was setting up an office to oversee the First Lady's duties. However, he turned down calls for a wider investigation into Kim. The matter has become a sore point among not only the opposition but also the people of the country.

Yoon's falling ratings

Yoon has also been losing ground with the people of the country. His approval rating dropped to 19 per cent in the latest Gallup poll last week. This is largely blamed on his handling of the economy and his inaction regarding his wife.