• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

South Korea in chaos as President orders martial law

Banjo64

cumsessed


Summary​

 

Banjo64

cumsessed
As someone who thought South Korea was a stable nation it’s worrying to see a Western allied nation descend in to what appears to be an attempt to subjugate the electorate.
 

Trunx81

Member
Judge Dredd GIF
 

Hookshot

Member
I'm not sure I understand the process here.

"To stop the opposition from turning SK into a military dictatorship like NK, I must turn SK into a military dictatorship like NK"
I think it was

"To stay out of prison I'll try to stop my opposition with the military"

Not exactly a coup, but it's apparently not worked and soon he will probably be going away for longer than if he hadn't tried this.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Presidents of South Korea:

1. Syngman Rhee (1948–1960)
• Overthrown following public protests (the April Revolution). Resigned and went into exile in Hawaii.

2. Yun Bo-seon (1960–1962)
• Served as a figurehead president during the Second Republic. Resigned after a military coup led by Park Chung-hee.

3. Park Chung-hee (1962–1979)
• Rose to power after the 1961 coup. Assassinated by his close associate, Kim Jae-gyu, the head of the Korean CIA.

4. Choi Kyu-hah (1979–1980)
• Interim president after Park’s assassination. Removed following Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup in December 1979.

5. Chun Doo-hwan (1981–1988)
• Took power after a military coup. Later sentenced to death in 1996 for corruption and involvement in the Gwangju Massacre but was pardoned in 1997.

6. Roh Tae-woo (1988–1993)
• Elected as the first president under the reformed constitution. Later sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for corruption and involvement in military coups but was pardoned in 1997.

7. Kim Young-sam (1993–1998)
• First civilian president in decades. Played a major role in convicting Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

8. Kim Dae-jung (1998–2003)
• Longtime opposition leader. Imprisoned and sentenced to death during Chun Doo-hwan’s presidency but later pardoned. Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts in advancing democracy and inter-Korean relations.

9. Roh Moo-hyun (2003–2008)
• Faced impeachment in 2004, which was overturned by the Constitutional Court. After his presidency, he was investigated for corruption and died by suicide in 2009.

10. Lee Myung-bak (2008–2013)
• Convicted of corruption after his presidency and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Released on bail in 2022 for health reasons.

11. Park Geun-hye (2013–2017)
• Impeached in 2017 for corruption and abuse of power, becoming the first South Korean president to be removed from office by impeachment. Sentenced to 24 years in prison, later pardoned in December 2021.

12. Moon Jae-in (2017–2022)
• Left office without scandal or legal repercussions. Focused on progressive reforms and diplomacy with North Korea.

13. Yoon Suk Yeol (2022–present)
• Why not keep a good thing going?
 

Hookshot

Member
Presidents of South Korea:

11. Park Geun-hye (2013–2017)
• Impeached in 2017 for corruption and abuse of power, becoming the first South Korean president to be removed from office by impeachment. Sentenced to 24 years in prison, later pardoned in December 2021.
Was that the one who was in a bizarre cult run by powerful women?
 

Ristifer

Member
So, he declared martial law and then decided to lift it after probably knowing the parliament would vote to have it lifted? What was the point of that, other than to further piss off your entire population for a short period of time?
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
So, he declared martial law and then decided to lift it after probably knowing the parliament would vote to have it lifted? What was the point of that, other than to further piss off your entire population for a short period of time?
He declared martial law and sent blackhawks with coup troops to parliament to prevent them from voting, however it appears they were able to convene anyway and voted unanimously to lift martial law. The president tried to ignore the vote but it appears the troops stood down.
 

FeralEcho

Member
Presidents of South Korea:

1. Syngman Rhee (1948–1960)
• Overthrown following public protests (the April Revolution). Resigned and went into exile in Hawaii.

2. Yun Bo-seon (1960–1962)
• Served as a figurehead president during the Second Republic. Resigned after a military coup led by Park Chung-hee.

3. Park Chung-hee (1962–1979)
• Rose to power after the 1961 coup. Assassinated by his close associate, Kim Jae-gyu, the head of the Korean CIA.

4. Choi Kyu-hah (1979–1980)
• Interim president after Park’s assassination. Removed following Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup in December 1979.

5. Chun Doo-hwan (1981–1988)
• Took power after a military coup. Later sentenced to death in 1996 for corruption and involvement in the Gwangju Massacre but was pardoned in 1997.

6. Roh Tae-woo (1988–1993)
• Elected as the first president under the reformed constitution. Later sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for corruption and involvement in military coups but was pardoned in 1997.

7. Kim Young-sam (1993–1998)
• First civilian president in decades. Played a major role in convicting Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

8. Kim Dae-jung (1998–2003)
• Longtime opposition leader. Imprisoned and sentenced to death during Chun Doo-hwan’s presidency but later pardoned. Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts in advancing democracy and inter-Korean relations.

9. Roh Moo-hyun (2003–2008)
• Faced impeachment in 2004, which was overturned by the Constitutional Court. After his presidency, he was investigated for corruption and died by suicide in 2009.

10. Lee Myung-bak (2008–2013)
• Convicted of corruption after his presidency and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Released on bail in 2022 for health reasons.

11. Park Geun-hye (2013–2017)
• Impeached in 2017 for corruption and abuse of power, becoming the first South Korean president to be removed from office by impeachment. Sentenced to 24 years in prison, later pardoned in December 2021.

12. Moon Jae-in (2017–2022)
• Left office without scandal or legal repercussions. Focused on progressive reforms and diplomacy with North Korea.

13. Yoon Suk Yeol (2022–present)
• Why not keep a good thing going?
Man,all those korean dramas I watch where every political party is corrupt in some way is based very strongly on real life counterparts I guess...Yikes.
 

Lord Panda

The Sea is Always Right
This was not on my 2024 bingo list, but given the widespread and historic corruption in Korea I shouldn't really be surprised.
 
Last edited:

UltimaKilo

Gold Member
He declared martial law and sent blackhawks with coup troops to parliament to prevent them from voting, however it appears they were able to convene anyway and voted unanimously to lift martial law. The president tried to ignore the vote but it appears the troops stood down.

His political future was already over before this, now it’s dead.
 

near

Member
Wow. He could've started a civil war. Glad it's been averted for now.

Man,all those korean dramas I watch where every political party is corrupt in some way is based very strongly on real life counterparts I guess...Yikes.

100%. A lot of the corruption depicted KDramas are rooted in reality. Chaebols, military, education, policing, all of it. Despite all that, they maintain a functioning and stable society with law and order. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

lachesis

Member
I don't think he can really go on much with this stunt. People have pretty horrible memories regarding Martial Law / Coup. I think he will step down. (or get arrested)
Their majority congress is also as corrupt as they come, so I'm rather skeptical of what will happen too.
 
Should just split Korea into thirds. Give this dude the border of NK/SK and like no ability to use weapons or fuck with its neighbors. Yes, this is only because I want the dude to be president of a country called Mid Korea.
The oposition should take the border with SK and NK. They are more in line with Russian politics 🤣
 

Paltheos

Member
Big "My, how embarrassing" energy.

Only skimmed a BBC article on the story. Thankfully:

Under South Korean law, the government must lift martial law if a majority in parliament demands it in a vote.

The same law also prohibits martial law command from arresting lawmakers.
 

Mistake

Member
Sounds like business as usual in south korea. Hell, if anything they're just more open about it compared to their western counterparts
 
Last edited:
from what I read he has been super unpopular and this is just a last ditch desperate attempt at holding power as there were threats of impeachment.

Parliament voted unanimously to lift the martial law (including everyone from his own party) so yeah he's a goner.
 

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Presidents of South Korea:

1. Syngman Rhee (1948–1960)
• Overthrown following public protests (the April Revolution). Resigned and went into exile in Hawaii.

2. Yun Bo-seon (1960–1962)
• Served as a figurehead president during the Second Republic. Resigned after a military coup led by Park Chung-hee.

3. Park Chung-hee (1962–1979)
• Rose to power after the 1961 coup. Assassinated by his close associate, Kim Jae-gyu, the head of the Korean CIA.

4. Choi Kyu-hah (1979–1980)
• Interim president after Park’s assassination. Removed following Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup in December 1979.

5. Chun Doo-hwan (1981–1988)
• Took power after a military coup. Later sentenced to death in 1996 for corruption and involvement in the Gwangju Massacre but was pardoned in 1997.

6. Roh Tae-woo (1988–1993)
• Elected as the first president under the reformed constitution. Later sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for corruption and involvement in military coups but was pardoned in 1997.

7. Kim Young-sam (1993–1998)
• First civilian president in decades. Played a major role in convicting Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

8. Kim Dae-jung (1998–2003)
• Longtime opposition leader. Imprisoned and sentenced to death during Chun Doo-hwan’s presidency but later pardoned. Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts in advancing democracy and inter-Korean relations.

9. Roh Moo-hyun (2003–2008)
• Faced impeachment in 2004, which was overturned by the Constitutional Court. After his presidency, he was investigated for corruption and died by suicide in 2009.

10. Lee Myung-bak (2008–2013)
• Convicted of corruption after his presidency and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Released on bail in 2022 for health reasons.

11. Park Geun-hye (2013–2017)
• Impeached in 2017 for corruption and abuse of power, becoming the first South Korean president to be removed from office by impeachment. Sentenced to 24 years in prison, later pardoned in December 2021.

12. Moon Jae-in (2017–2022)
• Left office without scandal or legal repercussions. Focused on progressive reforms and diplomacy with North Korea.

13. Yoon Suk Yeol (2022–present)
• Why not keep a good thing going?
This is unreal.
 

6502

Member


Big boned bro was a total badass against this coup soldier who tried to take his phone at the parliament entrance.

At first I thought, what a pussy... then for a second I saw phone guy. Ain't no way anyone would pick a fight with a guy who looks like Sammo Hung in the middle of Martial Law.
 

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
As someone who thought South Korea was a stable nation it’s worrying to see a Western allied nation descend in to what appears to be an attempt to subjugate the electorate.
Western alliance may be a major point at issue here. Yoon is tightly aligned with the US and has pushed for anti-labor policies and normalization with Japan, both at the behest of US backers. These policies have been deeply unpopular.

There is also a lot of discontent in Korea broadly, they have massive wealth consolidation and income inequality; 6 families account for about 60% of the GDP and another 50 or so account for most of the remainder. So there is just a massive amount of corruption baked into the system both direct and implicit.

They're also going through a culture war crisis, drawn mostly down gender lines, which is leading to a severe birth rate collapse. Basically young men being so noxious in their attitudes toward women that no one will fuck them, and it's gotten so bad that they literally raid game developers to demand the firing of random employees they suspect of being "feminist sympathizers."

It's all very bad, like social collapse bad. It's also like a very exaggerated version of a lot of the same patterns visible in America. Except America doesn't really have enforceable anti-bribery laws anymore unless it's foreign and explicitly attached to a quid pro quo, so the corruption angle doesn't get the same public outrage.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom