'I'm scared to speak': President's martial law declaration shocks Korea

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'I'm scared to speak': President's martial law declaration shocks Korea

Published: 03 Dec. 2024, 23:29 Updated: 04 Dec. 2024, 14:23

YOON SO-YEON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares emergency martial law on Dec. 3. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Korea fell into an immediate shock after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law against "antistate forces," with citizens panicking over the unprecedented political move.

"I thought I was seeing fake news," said Lee, a 28-year-old school teacher living in Gyeonggi. "I was watching a drama series on television before he came on. I thought it was some sort of a prank. But now that I'm seeing all sorts of news, I'm really scared about what might happen."

"I still can't believe it's real," said 30-year-old Kang, an accountant who lives in Mapo District, southern Seoul. "I saw the breaking news that he will be holding an emergency briefing, but I never thought that this could be it. I've only seen it in movies, and they seem terrifying."

Online communities were immediately flooded with comments worrying about the impacts of the declaration and whether it would be possible for the majority Democratic Party (DP) to lift the declaration the next day. The won plummeted against the dollar and cryptocurrency trading platforms froze due to overload.

The DP summoned its representatives to the National Assembly in western Seoul but were blocked by police, according to media reports.

Police block the National Assembly gates on Dec. 3 after President Yoon Suk Yeol declares emergency martial law. [JOONGANG ILBO]

"I'm even scared to post this comment. This is the true definition of national disgrace," read a comment on the news that patrol guards were barring the National Assembly building on portal site Nate.

Major online community apps, such as Blind and Naver Cafe, were inaccessible, likely due to traffic overload.

"He's ruining this country. He's stabbed the whole nation in the back," read another comment on Nate.

President Yoon declared emergency martial law at 10:22 p.m., "to protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean Communist forces, to immediately eradicate the unscrupulous pro-Pyongyang antistate forces that pillage the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect free constitutional order."

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]