FALQs: South Korean Martial Law

The following is a guest post by Sayuri Umeda, a foreign law specialist who covers Japan and other countries in East and Southeast Asia in the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress. Sayuri has previously authored numerous posts for In Custodia Legis, including Food Delivery in Japan – History and Current RegulationTradition vs Efficiency: ‘Hanko’ Affects Workplace Efficiency and Telework in JapanThe History of the Elimination of Leaded GasolineThe Law Library’s New Report on Public Prosecution Reform in South KoreaLaw Library’s New Report Reviews Foreign Ownership of Land Restriction in Major EconomiesFALQs: The Conscription System of South Korea; and many more!

At 10:30 p.m. on December 3, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law for the first time in 40 years and lifted it at 2:30 a.m. on December 4, 2024, after the National Assembly voted to recommend its lifting to the president.

1. What is martial law?

South Korea’s Constitution (Constitution No. 10, Oct. 29, 1987) and the Martial Law Act (Act No. 3442, Apr. 17, 1981, as amended) do not define martial law. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is “the law administered by military forces that is invoked by a government in an emergency when civilian law enforcement agencies are unable to maintain public order and safety.” The constitution states “[w]hen it is required to cope with a military necessity or to maintain the public safety and order by mobilization of the military forces in time of war, armed conflict or similar national emergency, the President may proclaim martial law.” (Constitution, art. 77, para. 1.)

Korean laws provide two types of martial law: extraordinary martial law and precautionary martial law. (Constitution art. 77, para. 2; Martial Law Act, art. 2, para. 1.):

  • Emergency martial law is to fulfill military necessity or maintain public security and order when there are belligerents or serious disturbances of social order that considerably impede the performance of the administrative and judicial functions of the state in time of war, incident, or other equivalent national emergency.
  • Precautionary martial law is to maintain public security and order when the social order is so disturbed that civil administrative authorities cannot preserve public peace in times of war, incident, or another equivalent national emergency. (Martial Law Act, art. 2, para. 2, 3.)

Under extraordinary martial law, arrest and search without a warrant, and restriction of freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and association may be allowed. (Constitution, art. 77, para. 3.) In this case, President Yoon declared emergency martial law, “accusing the nation’s opposition of paralyzing the government with ‘anti-state activities plotting rebellion.’”

2. What is the procedure for declaring martial law?

Before the president declares martial law, he or she must deliberate the matter with the State Council. (Constitution, art. 89, item 5; Martial Law Act, art. 2, para. 5.) The State Council, usually referred to as the cabinet, consists of the president, the prime minister, and other ministers. (Constitution, art. 88, para. 2.) The prime minister is appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly. (Id. art. 86, para. 1.) The members of the State Council are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. (Id. art. 87, para. 1.)

3. What power does the National Assembly have over the imposition of martial law?

When the president has proclaimed martial law, he or she must notify the National Assembly without delay. (Constitution, art.77, para. 4; Martial Law Act. art. 4, para. 1.) When the National Assembly requests the lifting of martial law with the concurrent vote of a majority of the total members of the National Assembly, the president must comply. (Constitution, art.77, para. 5.) In this case, the main opposition called in its lawmakers urgently to the National Assembly building after the martial law declaration. “Of the 300 members of parliament, 190 were present and all 190 voted in favor of a motion demanding the lifting of martial law.”

4. Is this the first time in South Korea that Martial law was used?

This is the first time in 44 years since the Gwangju Uprising in May 1980. An NPR article cites Professor Charles Kim’s statement that South Korea “saw authoritarian rule starting from its founding after gaining independence from Japanese colonialism all the way to the 1980s.” According to another article on the Asia Media Center website, “[m]artial law has been declared some 16 times in the country’s history, with the first instance being in August 1948 when the Korean Republic was established.”

5. What other countries have recently been under martial law or emergency law?

Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022. Though it is not nationwide, Myanmar’s three townships of Shan State are currently under martial law. In 2022, Canada invoked the Emergencies Act “for the first time in Canada’s history to give the federal government temporary powers to handle … blockades and protests against pandemic restrictions.” It gave “police more tools to restore order in places where public assemblies constitute illegal and dangerous activities.” The emergency measures were applied in a limited area. Egypt was placed under a state of emergency in April 2017. It was suspended on October 25, 2021.

6. What is the procedure for impeachment of the President?

The first motion to impeach President Yoon over imposing martial law against the constitution failed on December 7, 2024, due to a lack of quorum. A motion for the impeachment of the president can “be proposed by a majority of the total members of the National Assembly and approved by two-thirds or more of the total members of the National Assembly.” (Constitution, art. 65, para. 2.)

The second motion was successful. The National Assembly voted on December 14, 2024, to impeach the president, suspending him from his duties. (Id. art. 65, para. 3.) Prime Minister Han Duck-soo immediately began his duties as the acting president. Next, the Constitutional Court will examine whether Yoon violated the Constitution and the Martial Law Act. (For further information on impeachment, see South Korea: President May Be Impeached.)


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Dr. Fauci Slaps Down CNN’s Jim Acosta Attempt To Say Trump’s Coronavirus Response Was Too Slow

CNN reporter Jim Acosta attempted to get Dr. Anthony Fauci to say the President didn’t react quickly enough to the coronavirus crisis. In fact, he said the exact opposite.

Acosta inquired as to whether or not the administration had taken enough action when countries such as South Korea and China were grappling with the outbreak.

The exchange between him and Fauci took place during Tuesday’s coronavirus task force briefing.

Acosta’s Accusation

The White House coronavirus task force announced yesterday that the pandemic may leave 100,000 to 240,000 people in the United States dead, with millions infected.

A somber President Trump announced that America could be in for “a very painful two weeks.”

Acosta couldn’t help but take that opportunity to point a finger of blame at the administration.

“This may be an uncomfortable question but what would the models have looked like … if we had started the social distancing guidelines sooner in February or January when China, South Korea were doing those,” he asked. “Could these models be different?”

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Taken Out of Context

The President decided to yield this question to his experts, but not without first pointing out that his travel restrictions early on helped slow the spread, something Dr. Fauci has agreed with many times.

Dr. Deborah Birx stepped up and explained pushing back on the virus couldn’t necessarily start until testing results were available in the United States.

Acosta replied, “There may be Americans at home saying if we had started this sooner we might not have 100,000 to 200,000 Americans dying.”

Fauci followed up Birx’s comments by calling out Acosta for an attempt to find a quote and take it out of context.

“Just to underscore what Dr. Birx was saying, if there was no virus in the background there was nothing to mitigate,” he explained.

“If there was virus there that we didn’t know about than the answer to your question is probably yes,” Fauci continued. “The only trouble with that is that whenever you come out and say something like that it always becomes almost a soundbite that gets taken out of context.”

 

RELATED: Watch: President Trump Makes An Example Out of Jim Acosta Yet Again

Very, Very Early

Ultimately, Dr. Fauci replied to Acosta’s question by saying that yes, the administration did act swiftly to help lessen the devastating impact of the coronavirus.

“But we were watching South Korea excuse me and China and Italy and we weren’t taking action when those countries were spiking,” Acosta insisted.

“In a perfect world it would’ve been nice to know what was going on there,” Fauci replied. “We didn’t but I believe Jim that we acted very, very early in that.”

Acosta tried once again to manipulate sound bites by leading people with “an uncomfortable question” and Fauci shot down that effort in a hurry.

The far-left CNN reporter tried the same thing a day earlier when he attempted to blame President Trump for not taking the virus seriously enough in the beginning.

That effort prompted the President to say, “Instead of asking a nasty, snarky question like that, you should ask a real question.”

Who knows, maybe he’ll try that approach next time. But we wouldn’t bet on it.

The post Dr. Fauci Slaps Down CNN’s Jim Acosta Attempt To Say Trump’s Coronavirus Response Was Too Slow appeared first on The Political Insider.

Bette Midler Blasts Trump for Mocking the Oscars: ‘I’m More Upset That a Parasite Won the White House’

By PoliZette Staff | February 22, 2020

Hollywood star Bette Midler, who seems to bash President Donald Trump on a daily basis, just went after him once again on social media, this time for his comments mocking the Academy Awards.

During a rally in Colorado on Thursday, Trump slammed the fact that the foreign film “Parasite” won Best Picture at the Oscars earlier this month.

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“The winner is a movie from South Korea. What the hell was that all about? We’ve got enough problems with South Korea, with trade,” Trump said. “And after all that, they give them best movie of the year?”

“Parasite” was the first foreign film to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars, and it also won awards for directing and original screenplay, according to Fox News. Midler took to her own Twitter page to make it clear that she was livid about Trump’s remarks.

“At his rally, #Trump complained about #Parasite winning the Oscar,” Midler tweeted. “I’m more upset that a parasite won the White House.”

Unfortunately for Midler, however, her tweet backfired on her when social media users used it to go after Barack Obama.

Thank goodness that parasite Barack Obama is gone!” one user wrote, with another adding, “Me too. I still can’t believe we had a parasite in the WH. 8 years of Obama was too much.”

During the same rally, Trump also went after Brad Pitt, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.” While accepting his award, Pitt used his speech to attack Republicans who shut down Democrats’ attempts to call more witnesses in the Trump Senate impeachment trial.

“They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week,” Pitt said. “I’m thinking maybe Quentin [Tarantino] does a movie about it. In the end, the adults do the right thing.”

Trump had some choice words for Pitt over these comments.

“And then you have Brad Pitt, I was never a big fan of his,” Trump said. “He got up, said a little wise guy thing. He’s a little wise guy.”

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Hollywood stars like Midler and Pitt don’t realize that when they go after Trump, they’re just making themselves look like out of touch liberal elitists who have no idea what they’re talking about. Trump did not become president to help wealthy liberals like them. Instead, he became president to help average working Americans who have been cast aside by Democrats.

Trump should know that if Midler and the rest of Hollywood keep bashing him, he’s just doing something right!

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
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The post Bette Midler Blasts Trump for Mocking the Oscars: ‘I’m More Upset That a Parasite Won the White House’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

Trump Rocks Rallies Out West, Slams Bloomberg And Hollywood

For those who don’t particularly care to get their political and cultural analysis from leftist cable news, there is another pundit out there who has usually gets it right.

The president of the United States.

Wednesday and Thursday nights were no exception, as President Trump took well-aimed shots at a range of topics and targets at a raucous rally in Phoenix, Arizona and at a similar event in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Arizona, much to Democrat chagrin in 2016, is solid red. Colorado was until recently thought to be solid Democrat territory, though current analysis could put it in the toss up column for November.

Trump continued his mocking of Mike Bloomberg in Phoenix on Wednesday, “I hear he’s getting pounded tonight — you know he’s in a debate. I hear that pounding. He spent $500 million so far and I think he has 15 points. Crazy Bernie was at 30.”

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His son Don, Jr. echoed his dad on social media, “Like a deer in the headlights! Like I said last week Mini, you can’t buy personality or wit and the whole world just saw it.”

The president also justifiably hit Amy Klobuchar’s campaign as “dead” on Wednesday because of her disastrous debate performance and her junior high school airhead question of Pete Buttigieg, “Are you calling me dumb?” Pete may have only implied it, Amy. But we have no problem answering, yes.

For good measure, in Phoenix he compared Pete Buttigieg to Mad magazine’s Alfred E. Newman. We get that, though also see a lot of Pee wee Herman there.

Commenting on pop culture in Colorado Springs on Thursday he said, “By the way, how bad were the Academy Awards this year? ‘And the winner is a movie from South Korea’. What the hell was that all about? We’ve got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give them the best movie of the year? Was it good? I don’t know. I’m looking for like, let’s get ‘Gone with the Wind.’ Can we get ‘Gone with the Wind’ back, please? ‘Sunset Boulevard’? So many good movies.”

The crowd loved it.

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“The winner is from South Korea. I thought it was best foreign film. Best foreign movie. No — did this ever happen before? And then you have Brad Pitt. I was never a big fan of his. He got up and gave a little wise guy statement.”

On both nights the president went on to recount his accomplishments in office and take other hard punches at the Democrats for the impeachment drama and their knee jerk leftism.

This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

Read more at LifeZette:
Trump and Barr pull a classic con on Democrats
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The post Trump Rocks Rallies Out West, Slams Bloomberg And Hollywood appeared first on The Political Insider.