President Of South Korea Announces Martial Law: Is The Country Returning To Authoritarian Rule?

As per the reports of various Western news outlets, including CNN and the BBC, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared martial law to “ … safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements…”

Details are still unclear, but the current president announced the law during a late-night address, in which he accused the opposition of controlling the parliament and sympathizing with North Korea. Since taking office in 2020, an opposition-controlled parliament has prevented the president from passing some of Yeol's policies.

After World War II, South Korea was governed by several authoritarian regimes. Yet, in 1987, the country finally experienced freedom after the fall of two subsequent brutal military dictatorships.

Adding to the complications of the current situation, since the end of the Korean War, the U.S. and South Korea have enjoyed a mutual defence treaty that dictates the U.S. will come to Seoul’s aid in the case of an attack, most likely by the forces of its belligerent neighbor, North Korea. Today, serving as a legacy of the agreement, there are currently around 30,000 American forces stationed in South Korea to deter any further aggression by Seoul’s northern neighbor.

While little is certain, American troops on the ground and their superiors in Washington will face significant unease if one of their closest democratic allies is undergoing an authoritarian takeover.