Candle-lit vigils and rallies were held across South Korea on Wednesday, a nation outraged and frustrated by the president\u2019s surprise declaration of martial law the night before called for his resignation. <\/p>\n
Outside the National Assembly Hall in the capital Seoul, hundreds of people gathered on the steps as inside, opposition parties attempted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose six hours of martial law sent shockwaves through the country and plunged Asia\u2019s fourth-largest economy into political uncertainty. <\/p>\n
For Mi-rye, 64, the short-lived decree brought back dark memories of a more painful, authoritarian past defined by mass arrests and human rights abuses. <\/p>\n
\u201cA sense of fear completely overwhelmed me,\u201d Mi-rye, who only wanted to go by her first name for fear of retribution, said after watching Yoon\u2019s address late Tuesday night. <\/p>\n
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She couldn\u2019t sleep and so travelled from her home city of Paju in Gyeonggi Province, near the border with North Korea, to Seoul to \u201cstay vigilant.\u201d <\/p>\n
After army major general Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup and declared martial law in the 1980s, people lived under strict curfews and \u201canyone caught outside was taken to the Samcheong re-education camp,\u201d Mi-rye said. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven stepping outside to smoke could get you arrested,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople walking on the street without their ID cards were detained. Plainclothes officers were stationed everywhere, waiting to catch people.\u201d <\/p>\n
Under his rule, opponents were arrested, universities closed, political activities were banned and the press stifled. Nearly 200 people were killed in 1980 when Chun sent in the military to crush student pro-democracy demonstrations. <\/p>\n
Kyung-soo, who also wanted to go by just his first name, says his fear \u201cstems from the actions of a government that seems disconnected from the voices of its people.\u201d <\/p>\n
Martial law \u201cis not just a distant memory,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a painful reminder of how easily democracy can be threatened.\u201d <\/p>\n
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It\u2019s a message that appears to have resonated even with those who have only known democracy in South Korea. <\/p>\n
Moon Seo-yeon is just 15 years old, but she was determined to join the rallies in Seoul on Wednesday, saying Yoon\u2019s declaration of martial law was a \u201cmistake\u201d and showed a \u201ccomplete lack of consideration.\u201d <\/p>\n
For Moon, the martial law decree was the latest in a litany of grievances, and she feels no progress has been made during his time in office. <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring Yoon\u2019s term, there have been many significant events that were either poorly handled or not addressed at all. It feels like there\u2019s been no progress, or worse, steps backward,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe response to the Halloween tragedy was slow, highlighting poor political leadership,\u201d she said, referencing a crowd crush that killed more than 150 people.\u2060 <\/p>\n
\u201cI may not be old or very knowledgeable, but since the country is in a state of emergency, I want to contribute, even if it\u2019s just a small effort,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Questions have now turned to what comes next as Yoon faces growing backlash across from across the political spectrum, including within his own party. <\/p>\n
There is mounting pressure for him to resign. Protesters began marching down the center of the city Wednesday evening, calling for him to be arrested. <\/p>\n
Six opposition parties have submitted a bill calling for his impeachment. Meanwhile, the main opposition Democratic Party, said it had begun formalizing treason charge plans against the president, as well as the defense and interior ministers. <\/p>\n
Mi-rye, who traveled to Seoul to take part in the rallies, said she will keep protesting until Yoon steps down. <\/p>\n
\u2060\u201dAlthough there is some relief after the martial law was lifted, there is still concern that it could be re-declared,\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I am here,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Candle-lit vigils and rallies were held across South Korea on Wednesday, a nation outraged and frustrated by the president\u2019s surprise declaration of martial law the night before called for his resignation. Outside the National Assembly Hall in the capital Seoul, hundreds of people gathered on the steps as inside, opposition parties attempted to impeach President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}