South Korean president declares emergency martial law, warns of “communist forces”

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared “emergency martial law” on Tuesday, accusing the country’s opposition of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government with anti-government activities.

“In order to protect a free South Korea from the threats posed by the North Korean communist forces and to eradicate anti-national elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.

“Without regard for people’s lives, the opposition party has suspended the government just because they want to be charged, a special investigation, and to protect their leader from justice,” he added.

Yoon said he had no choice but to use martial law, but did not say what steps would be taken, the BBC reported.

The dramatic move comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to clash over next year’s budget bill. Last week, opposition lawmakers approved a much-reduced budget plan through a parliamentary committee.

“Our National Legislature has become a den of criminals, a den of tyranny that seeks to cripple the judicial and administrative systems and destroy our democratic freedoms,” said Yoon.

Yoon, whose approval rating has plummeted in recent months, has struggled to push his agenda through the opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022.

Yoon’s conservative People Power Party has been locked in a dispute with the opposition Democratic Party over next year’s budget bill. He has also rejected calls for an independent investigation into scandals involving his wife and senior officials, drawing swift and strong rebuke from his political rivals.

The Democratic Party is reported to have called an emergency meeting of its lawmakers following Yoon’s announcement.

Yoon accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all important budgets for the nation’s core activities, such as fighting drug crime and maintaining public safety… turning the country into a drug lab and a state of public safety chaos.”

Yoon went on to label the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-government forces intent on a coup” and called his decision “inevitable.”

“I will return the country to normalcy by removing the anti-government forces as soon as possible.”

contributed to this report.