South Korea enters crisis: Opposition fights martial law

Lee Jae-myung, the opposition leader in South Korea, declared that the parliament will take action to nullify the president's decision to impose martial law.

Lee cautioned that the military might attempt to detain lawmakers, which Yonhap News Agency confirmed, reporting that the entrance to the parliament building has been blocked.

Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party, accused the president of making a decision that is unconstitutional. Similarly, Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party, described the president's decision as a "mistake" and announced that he would work with the people to block its implementation.

Yonhap News Agency reported that the defense minister ordered the military to remain on alert.

President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea announced during a Tuesday television speech the introduction of martial law in the country. He accuses the opposition of controlling the parliament, sympathizing with North Korea, and paralyzing the government through anti-state activities, writes AP.

Yoon stated that this decision is "critical for the defense of the country's constitutional order".

Reuters notes that Yoon Suk-yeol did not clarify what steps would be taken concerning the declaration of martial law.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted on Friday showed that the approval rating for President Yoon Suk-yeol has dropped to 19 percent, marking the lowest level since he took office in May 2022.

The survey, conducted by the research agency Gallup Korea, revealed that the positive assessment of Yoon's performance dropped by 1 percentage point compared to the previous week, while his negative assessment reached a record level of 72 percent, up 2 percent from the previous week.

For the first time in history, Yoon's approval rating in Gallup's surveys fell below 20 percent.

Source: PAP, WP News