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Late Tuesday night, as Koreans settled into bed, South Korea's president Yun songyoul, shocked the nation by declaring martial law for the first time in nearly forty years. Or In a live television broadcast, Yun said he imposed the extreme measure to protect freedom and constitutional order and to defend the country, which he said is falling into ruins.
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Within hours, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of South Korea's National Assembly building despite the freezing cold, and around midnight, protesters, armed soldiers and lawmakers converged on the building as the members of parliament tried to enter it. Lawmakers on all sides denounced the martial law declaration, including the leader of Yun's own Conservative party, and by early morning, lawmakers had unanimously passed a resolution demanding that martial law be revoked.
Under the mounting pressure, Yun went on live television again and backed down, promising to lift the emergency measure heja question. In the end, Korea was only under martial law for about six hours, but the shock move has plunged the country into a political crisis.
The whole drama lasted only several hours, but its ramification is going to be lasting for weeks, if not month to come.
Sam Kim is a Bloomberg Economy and government reporter based in Seoul.
I think it's a matter of time before there's possibly another round of certain political chaos, depending on how Yun reacts to what the parliament is trying to do, which is to impitch him. In the meantime, Error concerns that this will have a long term impact on the economic strength of the country.
Welcome to the Big Take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm Wanha today on the show, What exactly happened on the ground during six hours of martial law in South Korea, What happens next, and what's at stake for the country's political and economic stability. In a span of just six hours, South Korean President Yunsonyoul invoked martial law for the first time in more than forty years, and then quickly revoked it under pressure. We asked Bloomberg Sam Kim to take
us through the chaotic, intense events. Sam, what was your reaction when you first heard the news about martial law being declared.
To hear that a prison declared martial law in a country I've been living in for what for decades now, It was just surreal because it is something that you would see in a history book. He just wouldn't imagine something like this would happen. The last time the martial law was imposed was around I think nineteen eighty, when long time President Pak CHUNGI was assassinated and the military
took over the country. During that interim period, what happened was a deadly suppression of an uprising in a city called Guangju in the southwest of South Korea. Hundreds of people died there as they were uprising against the military fronta. So the word martial law immediately invokes that image of bloody of risings, and I think that's probably because of those years of military influence and power that really struck fear in the hearts of almost every South Korean.
It sounds like no one had a good sleep in South Korea. What was it like on the ground overnight after martial law was declared?
There was a lot of chaos, I bet and I don't live very far from the National Assembly, actually, it's just across the river. And after I woke up and heard the news. I went out to the balcony because my wife was telling me that there seemed to be choppers flying over our apartment complex, and I did hear them too. What helicopter I saw was landing on the National Assembly and it almost felt like there was some type of combat or battle on the ground of the
National Assembly. It's the kind of scene that you would see in a movie with troops swooping down in order to quall a bunch of opponents. And then there were crowds outside the National Assembly complex holding up pluck cards banners that obviously had messages critical.
Un But in the end, though lawmakers were able to gather in the building an assemble right Yes.
In the end, one hundred and ninety lawmakers were able to make it inside the main hall of the National Assembly, and the one hundred and ninety lawmakers, all of them unanimously voted in favor of nullifying the president's decree. And from there the ball was in the court of President June and it took him several more hours to decide that yes, I'm going to accept this order from the Parliament to stop the martial law. So he made an announcement between four am and five am SAM.
What did Yune's martial law order actually entail and how would it have restricted everyday life in South Korea?
According to the martial Law Order from the Martial Law Command, it basically banned all types of political activities, including what would happen inside the National Assembly, and also said it would ban any types of rallies and the media should be helpful with what it publishes. So it's a very broad sort of sweeping order that would have really stifled a lot of the activities and rights that South krestent have been enjoying for decades since they turned into a democracy about for decades ago.
And how did President you justify why he declared martial law in his national address?
The statement that he put out basically refers to what he called anti government forces secretly operating inside the country to subvert the government. If there's a war, the president does have the power to impose a martial law. Or a situation that is likened to a war or a massive national disaster where you would actually need to have some control of the way people act, you would need a martial law. But that night, I didn't feel that as I was going to sleep.
I imagine most Koreans did not either.
No, not at all.
Sam. How is President Une seen politically before this declaration of martial law? How popular was he?
He does not really have much support from the parliament because in the April elections, the ruling party was defeated pretty heavily by the opposition, which means the parliament is controlled by the opposition, and the support that he needs to push forward with his policies just isn't going to come from the parliament.
And June was feeling more and more cornered and isolated.
And Sam, the fact that President Yune felt so isolated, how might that have played into his decision to declare martial law.
I think President Yune felt a huge amount of hostility from the opposition, and he felt that he was losing his ability to run the government the way he wanted to. He certainly felt quartered by a parliament almost completely controlled by the opposition, and the April parliamentary election produced a National Assembly that had the power to im pitch him
if they really wanted to do that. And at the same time, his own ruling party was now being led by someone who started to become at odds with the president on top of all the pressure he had been feeling already. You could almost argue that he kind of snapped.
Here after the break, what's next for President Yun and what this means for US South Korean relations? On Wednesday morning, South Koreans were still reeling from the shocking events that happened overnight when President Yunsung yule declared martial law before revoking it just hours later. Since then, protesters have been calling for President Yun's resignation, while lawmakers are working to impeach him.
The political chaos has been unfolding at a speed that I have not seen before.
That's Bloomberg's Sam Kim again.
We're seeing the cabinet offering to step down and mass and the opposition parties are joining forces to submit an impeachment motion to make sure that president is going to be pitched and also prosecuted for what they call treason. So right now, in the middle of an unfolding crisis politically.
In the morning, when South Korean markets opened after the chaotic night, Korean shares and currency tumbled. They regained ground after authorities vowed to provide unlimited liquidity to markets. Still Sam says there are concerns about South Korea's economy in the face of the political uncertainty.
I think a lot of policymakers are very concerned at the moment of the potential economic impact this could have. It could dent some of the investor confidence in the country. There's some concerns that the political chaos in Tumult could have a very negative impact on the credit ratings for the country. If you're a foreign investor who wants to buy treasury bonds from South Korea have to worry about
the political risk that is associated with the bond. And there's a lot of economists now saying that we're probably going to see the one dollar rag staying elevated for some time, meaning that it's going to stay weak for some time to come. So no one's out of the woods at the moment with the economy.
And geopolitically, I wonder what is at stake, especially for the US, one of Korea's most important allies.
President Yune has been a fan of the alliance with the US. He's been a staunch supporter of doing more with the US and reducing reliance on China. In the realms of diplomacy in South Caare's trade with China has certainly been weakening compared to the trade with the US.
I think the US maintains the view that software are, regardless of who's in power, will remain a very important ally because if you look at the map, southcare still is at the tip of the spear that the US based has in terms of its military power and its ability to protect influence in Asia. But it would certainly make it more difficult if there's someone in power in Seoul who does not really like the way the US
manages his policy in this region. Right, if you're someone in Washington, you would certainly like to have someone who is more favorable to US policies. And when the US is trying to control the power that China is wielding in the region.
And how might China view all of this with what's happening in Korea, They must be watching this very closely.
They would want a politically friendly government in Seul for sure, right, a government that's more friendly toward Beijing, that is what they want. I don't know whether stability matters as much as how friendly Soul is going to be toward Beijing, but n has been someone that has made it clear that they're going to side with the US rather than China. But with the political risk for him now him being threatened, I think this could potentially change the whole landscape in the region.
Let's talk about this political risk facing you now. Things are moving so swiftly on the ground in South Korea. The opposition party introduced a bill to impeach President Un. How will this play out?
That's a very good question. I think they'll actually play by year going forward. What I mean by that is they're going to completely demand Un step down and that will pave the ground for a rather prompt and quick election without having to go through all the political wrangling, and there will also be a long series of legal proceedings that would just hire a lot of people out.
How many votes do they need to impeach him?
I believe they will need two thirds of the parliament. So the parliament has three hundred lowmakers, that means you would have to have the support from two hundred. The opposition parties do not have two hundred, so you would have to acquire a few dozen lawmakers voicing their support for your bill. And given that the ruling party was also very upset and very sorry to the public about
what happened with the president. I think there's a good chance some of the people in the ruling party might agree with the motion.
It sounds like the next few days and weeks are going to be really critical for President Yun and for South Korea.
I think it'll be a time when we're going to be hearing from Yune what he plans to do. Is he going to be stubborn, Is he going to regret his decision? Is he going to be conciliatory. The ball is in his court, and I think the parties in the parliament are waiting for him to do something so they can plan their next step. Another question I think we could be asking while we wait for you and to respond, is if it does somehow step down or
getting pitched, who is going to replace him? Who is the next person that would lead this kind That's the question everybody will be asking.
This is the big take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm wanha. This episode was produced by Young Young, Naomi m and Jessica Beck. It was mixed by Alex Sugiera and fact check by Young and Naomi. It was edited by Kitlyn Kenny Emily Yamamoto and Daniel ten Kate. Naomi Shaven is our senior producer, Elizabeth Ponzo is our senior editor, Nicole Beemster Bower is our executive producer, and Sage Bauman is Bloomberg's head of podcasts. Please follow and review The Big
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