South Korea’s president has declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of antistate activities.
Entrance to the National Assembly was sealed on Tuesday and parliamentarians were barred from entering the building, according to local news outlet Yonhap.
While making the announcement in a late-night televised address, President Yoon Suk-yeol said he will rebuild a free and democratic country through martial law.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate antistate elements … I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address.
“This is an unavoidable measure to ensure the freedom and safety of the people and guarantee the sustainability of the nation against the unrest stirred by these subversive, antistate elements.
“The National Assembly has also completely cut budgets essential for national operations, drug crime prevention and public safety, undermining the core functions of the state. This has left our citizens in a state of chaos with the nation becoming a haven for drugs and public safety collapsing.”
General Park An-soo, the martial law commander, announced a number of measures under the declaration, including prohibitions on all political activities, “including those of the National Assembly, local councils, political parties, and political associations, as well as assemblies [and] demonstrations”.
source: AL JAZEERA photo: XinHua
