South Korea’s SEOUL Following the unexpected declaration of martial law by the leader of this crucial American ally and the tenth-largest economy in the world, South Korea emerged from a night of political unrest with pro-democracy protests and statements but few concrete answers as to what comes next.
What is certain is that the announcement came as a shock to the 50 million-person nation, which has been a thriving Asian democracy in an era of growing authoritarianism after decades of military dictatorship.
Relationships with the United States, which sees South Korea as a growing source of support against China, North Korea, and Russia, will also be put to the test during the unprecedented episode. Additionally, it brought up concerns for the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.
What we know is as follows:
What happened
The Ministry of Defense sent nearly 300 armed troops to the National Assembly in central Seoul shortly after President Yoon Suk Yeol announced Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET) that political activity would be prohibited and the media would be censored. Some of the troops arrived by helicopter, while others scaled the outer walls or crawled through broken windows.
Lawmakers were barred from entering when they hurried over with their staff.
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