South Korea martial law: The six hours that shook the country

When the pictures on television suddenly changed and 19-year-old Chang was watching the demonstrations in Georgia on Tuesday night’s information when Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s leader, declared martial law, immediately the limelight was on his nation.

” I don’t believe what I was seeing”, said the 19-year-old pupil, who wished to be identified solely by his title.

By Wednesday afternoon, he was one of the activists standing before the National Assembly who was still stunned by what had transpired the night before.

Hwang remarked,” It’s essential for me to be here to show that what Yoon tried to do was not done.”

After legislators scrambled to prevent it, Yoon was forced to walk back in less than six hours after making his surprise news.

But those were turbulent days, sparking demonstrations, fear and uncertainty in the country that had elected him.

On Tuesday night, at 23: 00 local time ( 14: 00 GMT ) President Yoon, seated in front of blue creaseless curtains, made an unexpected address to the nation.

He claimed that he would enact military rules to shield the nation from “anti-state” militias that sympathized with North Korea. The tumultuous chief is impassed over a budget bill, which has been plagued by bribery scandals and inquiries into his cabinet members.

What followed was a day of snooze for Seoul.

Shortly after Yoon’s statement, authorities lined the light copper gates outside the National Assembly tower in the center of Seoul, the tower that the government’s tourism authorities have framed as” the sign of Asian democracy”.

The military finally declared that all political business was prohibited under martial law. However, neither that nor the extensive protection presence prevented thousands from gathered in worry and rage in front of the assembly.

It is easy to overlook that authoritarianism only came into existence in 1987 under military rule, making South Korea, a lively democracy, have its final resemblance to authoritarianism in the not-too-distant past. The final martial law was in place in 1979.

Juye Hong, a pupil at Seoul’s BBC World Service’s OS program, described this as” a walk I never anticipated in the 21st century in South Korea.”

Shortly after Yoon’s impact statement, the opponent’s Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, hosted a life supply urging people to arrange at the National Assembly and opposition it.

He also requested that his own lawmakers demonstrate their opposition to the order before the council.

Thousands of South Koreans responded.

As a lake of icy, black coats of winter pushed up against police wearing neon overcoats, chanting” no to military law” quickly, tensions grew.

And as military cars arrived, audiences resisted them. One lady sat obtrusively between the tyres of a car.

In stark comparison, there was a façade of civility across the rest of Seoul. However, confusion enveloped the town.

” The roadways look standard, people here are truly bewildered”, John Nilsson-Wright, an associate professor at the University of Cambridge, told BBC World Service from Seoul.

The officer he spoke to was” when bewildered as I am”, he added.

Some people had a hard day of sleep. ” At first I was excited at the thought of not going to college today”, 15-year-old Kwon Hoo told the BBC in Seoul on Wednesday. ” But therefore increasingly the sense of fear settled in, that kept me awake all night.”

A South Korean who did not want to be identified told BBC OS,” No words can express how frightened I am that things might turn out like North Korea for our people.”

However, expression was spreading that particular troops had been deployed to the council building. Before getting on the roof of the parliament, planes were audible above the air.

Investigators scurried away with their devices as they ran into the group outside the gates.

Journalists in Seoul kept in touch with one another and exchanged tips on how to stay healthy as worries grew about the government’s plans to restrain the press.

Ahn Gwi-ryeong, the 35-year-old director for the opposition Democratic Party found herself facing down men at guns. A picture of the time, where she is tugging at the chamber of a soldier’s shotgun, has since gone popular.

” I wasn’t thinking about something philosophical or moral, I was just like,’ We have to prevent this, if we don’t quit this, there’s nothing else,” she told the BBC.

” To be honest, I was a bit scared at first when I first saw the martial law forces. I thought,’ Is this something that may arise in 21st centuries Korea, especially in the National Assembly?”

” After quite a surprise next day, it was hard to get back to reality,” she added, recalling the preceding day”. I perceived that story was going to reverse itself.

The clock was ticking for opposition politicians as Ahn confronted the men, who rushed to the council to halt the purchase. When that happened, the leader would have to remove it.

But first, Members and their assistants had to get in. Some desperately clambered over fences and walls, while another shoved and screamed at military soldiers.

Lee Seong-yoon of the Democratic Party told the BBC that he had to climb a 1.5 meter ( 4. 9 ft ) high fence to enter the building, with the police blocking him despite having provided evidence that he was a lawmaker.

Hong Keewon, a different opposition MP, claimed activists had aided in hoisting him over the roof. When Yoon made the announcement, he was drowsy when he awoke his family and raced to parliament.

” Democracy is powerful around,” Hong said”. The defense wants to listen to us, to the law, and not to the chairman.”

Only somewhat calmer than the people around, the lawmakers who made it into the tower huddled together. Hurriedly, they barricaded the doors with whatever they could get: cushioned seats, long tables, sofas.

Some attempted to entice men who had entered the assembly tower.

By 01: 00 regional time, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik submitted a resolution requesting military rules to be lifted.

With that, less than two days after Yoon’s impact declaration, 190 politicians who gathered, including some from Yoon’s group, voted unanimously to prevent it.

Following the vote, opposition leader Lee stated to investigators that this was” a significant opportunity to break the vicious cycle and return to normal world.”

By 04: 30, Yoon was again on Television, in front of the same blue curtains, saying he would withdraw martial law. He claimed that this would only become official when enough members of his case may be assembled to pull the order.

The news was met with cheers outside the assembly. In the hours before dawn, more people emerged from the building, from behind the barricades they had haphazardly put together.

The stately structure already has the scars of the night when South Koreans defended their politics, with broken windows and cracked doors.

On Wednesday night, banks, local businesses, and schools all opened up as usual, and flights remained unaffected in South Korea’s buzzing money.

However, the political consequences and public outcry were not used.

As the sun rose on Wednesday, dozens gathered to visit for Yoon’s withdrawal. The leader is also facing prosecution trials.

” We are a powerful democracy… But Asian people want to be secure- President Yoon must resign or get impeached,” Yang Bu-nam, a Democratic Party legislator, told the BBC.