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Ex-President Yoon urges Koreans to 'rise again' in message delivered one year after martial law declaration

Published: 03 Dec. 2025, 18:35

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his trial on charges of obstructing special public duties at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Sept. 26. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol urged Koreans to “rise again” on Wednesday, exactly one year after he declared martial law, even as prosecutors and members of the public accuse him of inciting unrest and undermining the Constitution.

Yoon issued the statement — titled “Message to the People on Dec. 3” (translated) — in writing through his lawyers, defending his actions during the crisis.

According to Yoon, he issued the declaration amid what he described as a situation in which “government functions were paralyzed, and constitutional order was under threat” due to an “unprecedented push for [his] impeachment,” alongside “budget cuts and legislative obstruction.”

“I sought to restore the democratic constitutional order by invoking the president's authority to declare a state of emergency,” he wrote.

He framed the declaration as a “desperate message” that called on people to “awaken as sovereigns [and] directly check the representative powers that brought the nation to the brink.”

Yoon added that he “deeply regrets” that he was “unable to stop the whirlwind of insurrection allegations pushed by anticonstitutional forces, emotionally distressing and inconveniencing the public.”

Soldiers prepare to enter the main hall of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, during former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid on Dec. 4, 2024. [YONHAP]

“Soldiers and public officials who devoted their lives to the nation are now facing hardship,” said Yoon. “They must not be subjected to persecution and suffering for simply following a lawful presidential order. All responsibility lies with me.”

Yoon also criticized the Lee Jae Myung administration's judicial and prosecutorial reforms.

“We are witnessing the collapse of judicial independence through the dismantling of the prosecution service, the introduction of a four-tier court system, the expansion of Supreme Court justices to seize control of the judiciary, threats to impeach the chief justice and the establishment of a special court for insurrection cases — an authoritarian rampage following legislative despotism,” he wrote.

A supporter of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol reacts after hearing the Constitutional Court's verdict during a pro-Yoon rally near the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 4. [AP/YONHAP]

“It is time to rise again to defend Korea’s freedom, rule of law and sovereignty,” Yoon said, urging the public to use him as a stepping stone to “move forward.”

In a written interview published on Wednesday by Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun, Yoon said his declaration was “different from past forms of martial law, which oppressed the people,” as he “accepted the National Assembly’s request to lift it within hours,” denying any intention to neutralize the legislature.

Yomiuri reported that Yoon “again justified the martial law declaration” and noted that public sentiment in Korea remains cold toward the former president.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]