Composite image of Chun Doo-hwan, the dictator who provoked the military fascist coup in 1980, and Yoon Suk-yeol
Yoon’s declaration of emergency martial law is a fascistic maneuver that will result in advance of the revolution of the “ROK”
Comments of Coordinator of the Korean International Forum, Stephen Cho
December 3, 2024
– On December 3, 2024, at around 10 p.m., the Yoon Suk-yeol government declared emergency martial law. This emergency martial law is illegal because it does not meet the conditions of being “in time of war, incident or other equivalent national emergency,” as stipulated by the Martial Law Act. The president also failed to fulfill his duty to notify the National Assembly thereof without delay when martial law is declared. The National Assembly has the authority to lift martial law with a majority vote. On December 4, 2024, at 1:00 a.m., the National Assembly passed a resolution calling for lifting emergency martial law by a unanimous vote of 190 members, far exceeding the 150 members required for a majority. Martial law was completely nullified legally. The president must lift martial law without delay after the National Assembly decides to lift martial law.
– The president illegally declared martial law, moved the army to Seoul without complying with the obligation to notify the National Assembly, and attempted to block the National Assembly and force the army to enter it, which is clearly an act of treason regardless of the National Assembly’s resolution. Since the National Assembly has even passed a resolution, the actions of the president and the army that oppose the resolution constitute a more serious act of treason.
– The reason why the Yoon government resorted to the extreme measure of imposing emergency martial law is simple. This is because the president himself, his wife, Kim Keon-hee, and major politicians of the ruling party (People Power Party) are facing the biggest political crisis due to various illegalities and corruption cases, and the president’s impeachment is imminent as they are inevitable to be arrested. In particular, the so-called “Myeong Tae-kyun Gate” that emerged recently has made the impeachment and arrest of Yoon and his wife Kim certain due to the fraud and various corruption cases in the last presidential election. It is 10 times or even 100 times more serious than the “Choi Soon-sil Gate” eight years ago, which demonstrated the crimes of former president Park Geun-hye and led to her impeachment. It has caused an outburst of public rage, so university professors, literati, and Catholic priests have declared a state of affairs, and more than 100,000 citizens are holding rallies every week to protest Yoon’s resignation. The opposition party has been notifying the submission of a proposal for a permanent special prosecutor and for the re-pass of the resolution of the “Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecution Act” on December 10, which will be a fatal blow to Yoon and his wife, Kim.
– The fact that Yoon’s faction has been scheming for “wartime martial law” has been a widely known issue, even debated in the ‘ROK’ National Assembly since last summer. This declaration of martial law confirms that the unprecedented provocation in October—flying drones over Pyongyang to scatter leaflets—was by no means a coincidence. At the time, when the local war didn’t carry out by the DPRK’s “strategic patience”—“wartime martial law” could not be declared through a local war—the declaration of martial law is forcibly proceeded in December, even without a localized war.
– In the history of the ‘ROK,’ a thorough colony of the USA, all military coups—including Park Chung-hee’s on May 16, 1961, and Chun Doo-hwan’s on May 17, 1980—were, without exception, orchestrated by the USA, as objectively evidenced. Considering the historical precedents and the thorough master-servant relationship between the US military and the ‘ROK’ military, there is no reason to doubt that this declaration of emergency martial law and military coup was orchestrated under the control of the United States. As always, concrete evidence will likely emerge before long.
– The storm of World War 3, unleashed by imperialist forces, is sweeping from Eastern Europe through West Asia (the Middle East) to East Asia. For US imperialism, a war in the ‘ROK’, ie a war in East Asia becomes the full swing of World War 3. “The imposition of martial law in the ‘ROK’” serves as the fuse for this explosive scenario of the war in the “ROK“. The DPRK declared on January 15, 2024, it can subjugate the ”ROK“. From DPRK’s perspective, the declaration of martial law in the “ROK” is essentially equivalent to a declaration of war against the DPRK. After the “ROK”’s drone provocations in October, the DPRK reaffirmed its stance on the situation through official statements, emphasizing that “time is not set by us” and that “the countdown has begun.” Given recent developments, such as lifting the restrictions on long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine by the US and the UK, which have further heightened military tensions of world war, it is reasonable to conclude that imperialist forces are actively provoking a war in the “ROK.”
– The people of the ‘ROK’ have a proud history of protests that brought down the fascist dictatorship and defended democracy through the April Uprising in April 1960, the Gwangju Uprising in May 1980, and the June Uprising in June 1987. The declaration of emergency martial law by Yoon is an anachronistic, fascistic violence, and the people of the ‘ROK’ can never tolerate it. The fact that 190 members of the National Assembly immediately gathered and voted to lift martial law represents the strong will of the people of the ‘ROK.’ If the military fires on the people of the ‘ROK’ under the martial law of Yoon, we will see the “Gwangjuization of Seoul,” that is, the heroic armed struggle of the Gwangju people on May 18, 1980, in Seoul. This will explode the anger of the people of the ‘ROK’ and turn the ‘ROK’ society into the eve of revolution.
– The timetable for the President’s impeachment has been accelerated by the President’s emergency martial law and the National Assembly’s resolution to lift the emergency martial law. The anger of the people will also be stirred up through massive rallies and protests. The militant workers and people, including the People’s Democracy Party, will be at the forefront of the struggle to overthrow the Yoon fascist group. On December 4, at around 1 am and 2 am, the PDP issued militant statements, and a joint rally of parties and organizations is planned in the morning. The KOREAN CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (KCTU) announced an indefinite general strike starting right away. The broad anti-fascist democratic front, the Candlelight Action, also announced a massive rally for Yoon’s retirement.
– The more fascistic, frantic last-ditch effort the Yoon government makes, the more radicalized the consciousness of people in ‘ROK’ will become, and the timetable for the revolution of ‘ROK’ will be accelerated. It will not only lead to the downfall of Yoon and the ruling People Power Party but also to the downfall of all pro-US forces. At the center of the revolutionary process of transformation from the anti-fascist democratic front for Yoon’s resignation into the national democratic front for the withdrawal of US troops and its political struggle, there is the People’s Democracy Party, the only subject force of the revolution of the ‘ROK,’ and the only anti-US anti-imperialist party.
