#south korean politics

[cynicalclassicist]

South Korea does in less than two months what the US couldn't manage in four years.

LONDON -- South Korean prosecutors formally indicted President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday, charging him with insurrection over his brief imposition of martial law in December, according to opposition lawmakers and South Korean media.

"The prosecution has decided to indict Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing charges of being a ringleader of insurrection," Democratic Party spokesman Han Min-soo told a press conference, Reuters reported. "The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally."

[geminisee]

ok so in the span of like 5 hours:

- the south korean president declared martial law (the first time since s korea stopped being a military dictatorship in the 80s)

- claims his political opponents are insurgents working on behalf of north korea and communism

- declares that all political activity must cease (inc the national assembly/parliament), all media must be under the control of the military, and all protests/strikes are illegal

- the opposing political party immediately assembles at the national assembly in the middle of the night

- holds an emergency vote that goes thru 190-0 to declare the end to martial law (while barricading the entrances to prevent the military from entering and removing them)

- the president concedes an hour later

- civilian protesters in the streets are calling for the impeachment & arrest of the president

please feel free to add details/correct me

as of 2:40 EST Dec 3 2024

[destielmemenews]

source 1

source 2

source 3

[unrealcosima]

This drunk Korean journalist is reporting on whats going on in South Korea on Bluesky and its pretty amazing tbh

[aminotvxq]

What happened last night in South Korea was horrible.

We were only a few backsteps away from sinking back into dictatorship. Three decades of hard-won peaceful democracy we had been enjoying after three decades of dictatorship was about to fall.

Fortunately, swift action was takan by veteran lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Party, many of whom were survivors of and seasoned fighters against the bloody atrocity that once reigned South Korea back in the 1950s to 1980s. Equally important, some of the parliament members could make it safely into the National Assembly premise thanks to brave Korean civilians who rushed to the place to protest and block military vehicles that were trying to get near the parliament for the 190 lawmakers to make resolutions against the unjustified, out-of-the-blue martial law declared by President--a failed coup d'etat leader--Yoon Suk-Yeol.

▲ Opposition party member Ahn Gwi-ryeong, grabbing a soldier's gun to block the coup from arresting lawmakers inside the National Assembly. (Source: JTBC)

▲ Korean civilians gathering to barricade vehicles of the armed forces from entering the National Assembly. (Source: @woochick2 on Twitter)

▲ Korean citizens helping a parliament member go over the fence of the National Assembly to annul the martial law.

We still don't know the dick-for-brains Yoon's whereabout, neither what he's doing right now after the shitshow he created last night. Allegations are that the footage of him announcing to lift the martial law wasn't a live one; that it was actually pre-recorded at the same time as the footage of him declaring the martial law. Many suspect that some of the military leaders responsible for the failed coup d'etat attempt have already escaped this nation. The majority of the far-right ruling party gathered in their Party headquarters quite near the parliament last night, instead of heading straight to the parliament to vote against martial law, waiting for either the dawn of a new dictatorship or getting ready for being opportunistic. Only 10 ruling party lawmakers who are now known to belong to the opposing faction of Yoon within the party participated in lifting the martial law.

---------------

By the way, I'm much calmer now...😭 I was born soon after the end of the decades of dictatorship. I grew up in democratic South Korea, although there are still so many problems that need fixing. I barely slept last night. To my generation, it was literally an existential dread. I wished I could've run to the National Assembly to join the protest, but I lived too far away to do so. I owe the brave civilians and opposition party representatives my whole life.🥹🥹

Last night's experience was truly a solemn reminder that the flamboyant Korean pop culture, or Kpop, that we all love is built on a delecate hard-won democracy. Contemporary Koreans including me are only one generation away from brutal dictatorship that killed thousands.

[memento-mariii]

Meanwhile in Korea: there have been overnight protests calling for Yoon's arrest, amidst the freezing snow.

The protesters brought these foil blankets(?) to protect themselves from the cold, and have jokingly started referring to themselves as human Kisses chocolates.

(art by @youru_mille on Twitter)

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

Is this anything?

[mamaspidershit]

not south korea speedrunning through a coup, martial law, a dictatorship and then overthrowing a dictatorship in the span of three hours?????

[superbeans89]

France and South Korea are imploding in unison. It’s the romance of the year

[hamletsleftball]

die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die

[bobcatmoran]

Absolutely wild that in the time I was at work (which was, to be clear, the middle of the night in South Korea) the following happened:

a) The South Korean president declares martial law because. Uh. North Korea? Exists?

b) 190 of the 300 members of their National Assembly manage to make their way into the Assembly Hall, skirting police and soldiers who were enforcing the martial law, which includes no parlimentary activity. Some of them literally climb the walls around the building to get in, and others are aided by the MASSIVE amounts of protestors that have shown up at, like, 1 AM local time. Barricades are put up to keep the police out of the Assembly Chamber.

c) The vote is unanimous to overturn martial law. This means that the president's declaration has to be lifted.

d) The military says they'll keep enforcing martial law until the president says not to.

e) Three hours after the vote, the president says martial law is lifted.

People are now calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign or be impeached, and rightly so.

(Sources: BBC liveblog, Guardian liveblog, Associated Press, this thread from The Verge reporter Sarah Jeong who just happened to be in Seoul and doesn't usually report on Korean politics)

[weevil-mastermind]

Okay this can not possibly be what it says in the original Korean. There’s no damn way that’s their defense of an attempted coup in the middle of the night.

[phoenixfeathersinfall]

So, absolutely everything is happening with the South Korean government (martial law, vote to overturn martial law, talk of impeaching the president) AND the French government might be about to fall apart (vote of no confidence for the prime minister expected today...) Very normal times in geopolitics for all.

[acnewsworld]

The U.S. State Department has approved a $300 million foreign military sale to South Korea for a comprehensive improvement program for KDX-II Class destroyers, according to the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

In a statement released Monday, the DSCA announced, “The State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea for the KDX-II Class Destroyers Product Improvement Program, including logistics and program support, at an estimated cost of $300 million.”....

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[aminotvxq]

I'm so proud I was part of this crowd😍😍

Yesterday on 8 December 2024, Koreans had the biggest ever protest since a series of impeachment vigils 8 years ago. Reports say around 1 to 1.4 million gathered. I'd never thought we got to do this again. But here we are. All the crowds vowed together in our hearts that we won't stop until not-my-president, not-our-president, and botched coup d'etat leader Yoon Suk-yeol is taken down in the most miserable way possible.

The protest was more than just a solemn and serious action for the greater good. It was also about festivity for democracy we all love. Hundreds of thousands of korean pop music fans, mostly in their 10s to 30s, brought their lightsticks they use for concerts and other music events. I would dare to say a club scene was there at the parliament plaza💜🩷💙🩵💚💛🧡❤️🤎

Get a taste of what it felt like from this short footage I took:

Some close fellow TVXQ fans and I also brought our lightsticks to "join the party"💋❤️🍓🍑 I mean literally.

In just a couple of days, we've been bombarded by strings of frustrating and terrifying news. Emotional pain and distress, and coup-induced sleepless nights ensued. I got a beautifully sound sleep last night. The protest was where we all could heal our souls via solidarity.

I'm joining even more protests next week, and the next, and the next💋 until the lunatic pig Yoon gets politically slaughtered💋💋❤️