South Korean democracy at risk as president tries military takeover

In a shocking turn of events Yoon Suk-yeol South Koreas president tried to take control using martial-law but his plan quickly fell apart when politicians stood against him

The National Assembly (where Yoonʼs party lost big 8 months ago) didnt waste time to reject the declaration: lawmakers from every party joined together even as soldiers were trying to block the building. People made human-shields between troops and the parliament which made army units pull-back

Yoon who has been running the country for about two-and-a-half years used a budget fight as his reason saying: “its clear anti-state behavior“ He blamed the Democratic Party calling them “pro-North forces“ but his real problem is that less than 20% of people support him now

The law says presidents can use martial-law only in real emergencies — like war with North Korea. Article 77 lets them limit some rights but doesnt allow touching the parliament: this makes Yoons move look like a self-made coup. Park An-soo the army chief tried to stop political activity and control media but nobody listened

• Most of Yoons own party turned against him
• Han Dong-hoon the party leader rejected the move
• Opposition wants to impeach him
• People are ready for big protests

South Koreans remember how martial-law was used by dictators in the 1980s — when troops killed many protesters in Gwangju. The country has strong protest traditions; seven years ago millions of people helped remove another president

The US wont help Yoon even though he worked hard to be friends with America. Karl Friedhoff from Chicago Council says: “He was doing all the right things for DC but failed at home-politics“