S. Korean President Yoon declared martial law, citing the need to defend against N. Korea's communist forces.

Question

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared martial law, stating in an unscheduled address that liberal Korea must be defended against North Korea's communist forces. This is very uncommon.

Answer 1

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol did declare martial law in response to what he claims is a threat to their democracy according to multiple sources including CNN, AP News, and The Washington Post. According to CNN, Yeol is claiming that South Korea's main opposition party is sympathizing with North Korea and their "anti-state" activities. Yeol did backtrack the call for martial law after facing protests and the threat of veto according to The Washington Post. Yeol is now facing calls for impeachment. Overall the claim is true, but he actually cited South Korean opposition party members' sympathy to North Korea as the reason for declaring martial law.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/03/asia/south-korea-martial-law-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/03/south-korea-yoon-martial-law/

https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-yoon-martial-law-25a2a7c957e77a19f771b6b7c56a2173

Comments

Good fact check! I believe you backed your claims with authentic, reputable sources. You did a good job of providing some background information as opposed to just stating the current events. History helps us gain insight into what is actually happening. You properly reinstated the claim.

Answer 2

The post is generally true, but mixed with one detail that I cannot verify.

Yoon Suk-yeol had declared martial law for a few hours and it got lifted. Reliable sources like the BBC, CNN, and the Washington post has reported about the declaration of martial law.

These articles did not mention he announced the martial laws in an "unscheduled live TV message", BBC only mentioned that he announced it "in a late-night TV broadcast" (link to BBC article https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lgw1pw5zpo). I think Korean news would have more detailed information about this, but I could not find information that support "unscheduled live TV message" in English media.

BBC and China media South Reviews both mentioned how, although he said it is against North Korea and threats to the state, he is using the martial law to leverage his own power. (South Reviews is a news organization based in Guangzhou China, known for its political, social, and financial news reporting).

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/world/asia/what-is-martial-law-south-korea.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lgw1pw5zpo

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/12/03/what-is-martial-law-south-korea/

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/e8r96qWREOVsFtFGBjJGDg

Comments

I liked how honest and true you made this fact check. The amount of detail was very evident in your answer. Also, I looked into all of your sources and found that all of the authors and websites were credible sources on this subject with much evidence and quotes supporting the claims in these articles.  I liked how you also included people's names in this fact-check.