by Bernhard at Moon of Alabama
The attempted coup by the president of South Korea against the majority in the National Assembly has failed.
The quick reaction of the leadership of the Democratic Party, which holds the majority, has saved the day.
There was a struggle over the budget which the president’s minority government had lost.
In a furious reaction President Yoon Suk Yeol and his defense minister and school buddy Kim Yong-hyun decided to declare martial law. Remarkably the prime minister of the president’s government was not informed about the step:
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was completely unaware of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration. This was because Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a former upperclassman of President Yoon in high school, bypassed the prime minister and communicated directly with the president.Additionally, elite military units, specifically the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade, were deployed to the National Assembly, signaling an aggressive move to suppress political opposition.
A source said, “This martial law action appears orchestrated by the ‘Chungam faction,’ with (Defense) Minister Kim directly coordinating with President Yoon.” The “Chungam faction” refers to those who graduated from Chungam High School in Seoul.
Following the president’s emergency briefing and martial law declaration, the military established the Martial Law Command within the Ministry of National Defense compound, appointing Army Chief of Staff Park An-su as the commander.
Diplomatic sources noted that despite the defense minister’s recommendation for martial law, no cabinet meeting was convened, leaving the prime minister and his staff uninformed.
Opposition parties suspect that direct communication channels between the military and police were activated during the martial law declaration process.
They believe that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency was engaged directly, bypassing the National Police Agency, to control access to the National Assembly.
Under martial law the National Assembly was to be suspended. Strikes were declared illegal and the media would come under censorship.
But immediately after the president announced…
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