By: Kyul Kwon
On the 3rd of December, 2024, at 22:27 KST (Korea Standard Time), an emergency martial law was broadcasted on television, announced by South Korea’s president Yoon Seok/Suk Yeol (윤석열), who was elected in the 2022 South Korean presidential election. This martial law was recorded as the 12th https://www.npr.org/2024/12/05/nx-s1-5215788/south-korea-martial-law martial law in South Korean history, and the first emergency martial law in South Korea for over 40 years (비상계엄령의 역사, n.d.).
In this martial law, President Yoon mentioned the threats that DPR Korea (Democratic Republic of Korea/North Korea) could perform on South Korea. Soon after, it was later revealed that this martial law was declared in response to multiple political failures (BBC News, 2024).
Nearly immediately after the declaration, as shown in the image, President Yoon made troops/soldiers go to the National Assembly of South Korea. This caused the legislators to be unable to enter or exit the National Assembly, causing a huge tension.
Some time after the troops were sent to the National Assembly, legislators voted on the lifting of the martial law, which went through and demanded the lifting of the martial law, and it was finally lifted around 04.00 KST on 4th of December, 2024, therefore forming the martial law to last around 5 and a half hours, making it to be the shortest martial law in South Korean history. (Rising & Tong-Hyung, 2024).