Gabriela Bernal

Opinion | Seoul must stop using North Korea threat as an excuse to suppress democracy

Conservative forces have a long, bloody history of using the danger posed by the North to justify quashing dissent and removing checks on the president

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Protesters call for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, after his botched attempt to impose martial law, in front of the national assembly in Seoul on December 7. Photo: Reuters

Gabriela Bernal

Published: 4:30pm, 12 Dec 2024

The unthinkable has happened in South Korea – its president declared martial law in a move that evoked traumas from the past. According to President Yoon Suk-yeol, the move was necessary due to the presence of “anti-state” and “pro-North Korean” elements among opposition politicians. Although the decree lasted only six hours, it was enough to shake the country to its core.

The last time martial law was declared in the country was over four decades ago. The path to democracy was a hard-won battle that stretched across generations.

While Article 77 of the Korean constitution gives the sitting president the power to declare martial law in response to the threat of war and other national emergencies, this power has been misused too often. Conservative forces have a long and bloody history of using the threat posed by North Korea as an excuse to quash dissent and remove checks and balances on the president.

Martial law has been declared some 16 times in the country’s history. The roots of such policies date back to 1948, when the Korean republic was established and president Syngman Rhee introduced the national security law, under which any pro-communist speech or activities were criminalised.

This law was used by the president – and his successors – to arrest, imprison and sometimes execute political opponents by accusing them of being communist or North Korea sympathisers.

Park Chung-hee did the same after he took power in a 1961 coup and declared martial law. He then declared martial law again in Seoul in 1964 to suppress growing student protests against the normalisation of relations with Japan.