Many recall the trauma of the early 1980s, when South Korea was periodically placed under harsh laws.
Members and supporters of South Korean opposition parties gathering in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec 4.
Mr Yoon’s entire Cabinet and all his presidential aides have also asked to resign. They are said to have opposed the President’s idea of calling for martial law during a snap Cabinet meeting.Political theatre aside, what happened over the last day has dealt a visceral blow to the country’s identity as a democracy. South Koreans told The Straits Times that they are left very much shaken, even as they try to carry on with their daily lives.
The decree issued at 11pm on Dec 3 included bans on political activities and protests, and a mandate for the doctors who have been on strike since February to “return to their duties within 48 hours”. Agricultural researcher Shim Seong-koo, 72, said he felt a chill go over him as he watched Mr Yoon on TV call for the eradication of “anti-state forces that plunder the freedom and happiness” of South Koreans while declaring martial law.Martial law had been declared immediately after the assassination of President Park Chung-hee on Oct 26, 1979.
At the time, Mr Shim was attending a university in Seoul, where the situation was not as bad as in Gwangju. Still, he recalled how repression and fear dominated everyday life under military rule. The President even blindsided his own People Power Party, which has since publicly denounced his unilateral action and is now locked in internal debate on whether he should be forced to leave the party.
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