Japan watching South Korean situation with grave concern

Mr.  Yoon must step down, there is NO other way to secure the future of democracy in South Korea other than for him to step down.

This was an irreversible attempt !?? or possibly a power grab leading to dictatorship by him. this was not an error nor a misunderstanding on his behalf, it was an attempt and he failed.

He shot himself on the foot with that move. He will likely end up in jail after this. Such a shame greed for power got to him (or whatever else made him do this).

Yeah, concern that the Democratic Party is going to put some anti-Japanese nutter in the presidency.

My interpretation is much less dramatic. That was a pure technical or emergency test for a hypothetical conflict case with the North, implementing quickly a temporary martial law system and get the vehicles rolling on the roads and equipment activated. And it obviously worked fine, as well as the democratic countermeasure of ending that martial law situations quickly by a parliamentary decision worked well too. Democracy, parliamentarism and constitution are working fine and quickly there and I don't see any bigger issues. It was not a military but a more civilian or society training maneuver, for a potential case of cases.

The elephant in the room being a large part of the reason for Yoon's general unpopularity, which prompted what amounts to an attempted coup in the first place, is his perceived praise and whitewashing of the Japanese colonial period.

Indeed, polls last year, reported in the local media showed his approval crashing under 30%, based on disapproval of his overall Japan-policy. He is sometimes directly compared to colonial turncoat collaborationist puppet leaders, for good reason. And he displays the same inclination to turn on his brethren, as evidenced by events in the last 24 hours.

The government may be a US induced democracy but Koreans men are the most authoritarian by nature, followed by the Japanese then the Chinese.

White House visiting, American Pie singing President Yoon making a mockery of democracy.

quercetumToday 06:16 pm JST

The government may be a US induced democracy

The Korean people transitioned from dictatorship to democracy themselves.

One day, your beloved CCP will disappear in the same way.

Koreans men are the most authoritarian by nature, followed by the Japanese then the Chinese.

Any evidence for this, or are you just stirring the pot?

quercetumToday 06:31 pm JST

President Yoon making a mockery of democracy.

Wrong. The democratic institutions -- a vote by elected lawmakers in parliament -- are what removed the martial law and restored the situation.

Your usual attempts to denigrate democracy and push your beloved autocracy won't work.

What an incredibly bizarre and stupid thing to do. He needs to be impeached ASAP.

What were these 'anti-state' activities exactly?

Without knowing, conclusions = guess work at best.

i think it’s more public and opposing legislators frustration about the accusations, but no legal action, of stock manipulation by his wife spilling over to taint him.

blaming north korean outside influence is always convenient.

politics is a nasty business everywhere. we’re no different than any pack animal. someone testing the leader for dominance.

President Yoon Suk Yeol irrational descent into madness in a declaration of martial law. opens a political Pandora's box, of an opposition hell bent on creating a return to hateful retribution resentment of Japan its people for generations to come.

"Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has pledged to continue improving Japan's ties with South Korea, said the government is watching developments with "particular and grave" concerns".

.....

Analysis thus far seems to be 'shoot first and ask questions later'. We still have no idea what triggered this incident/martial law = nature of these anti-state activities.

One would hope and assume the SK Pres. is rational.

When democracy fails then martial law is the only go to…

When President Yoon Suk Yeol addressed parliament, detailed evidence warranting a declaration of martial law is essential to prevent the chaos that followed.

A smart thoughtful President Yoon Suk Yeol first action should have been announcing an independent public inquiry.

Korean are not passive like Japanese, Japanese should of removed their government decades ago, Korean people generally are a little rebellious,this why their government fear them

It all depends on the exact nature of the anti-state activities, as to whether the SK President's decision was good/bad/etc. We just don't know.

We still have no idea what triggered this incident/martial law = nature of these anti-state activities.

One would hope and assume the SK Pres. is rational.

Yoon’s wife was going to go to jail for accepting bribes on behalf of Yoon.

FWIW, Yoon declares Martial Law to fight this according to a source in Minami Azabu.

And he is an American Pie singing President of a democracy.

What some call bribes could just as easily be called political donations by others. Politicians on average are as corrupt as they come, really RICH ones less so, as they can 'afford' to not be bought. Seems Yoon was not so rich!

Besides, any decent pol is going to protect his wife from being politically 'persecuted' and jailed, so it passes the 'smell' test.

This is no national crisis, just REALLY dirty political games

This event of neighboring country tells many suggests or lessons. But, Japan's government or major media seem to have no interest beside immediate things.

South Korea's martial law has condition to lift it. But, Japan's "emergency situation clause" that ruling party LDP, Unification Church or far-right neutral parties "Ishin" "DPP" want has no even it, has risk that Japan's martial law will be endless.

Another US ally down, and South Korean seem to celebrate big time. No surprises there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFi2zrcgYiY

South Korean was never a fully sovereign country. Do South Korean leaders gave full access and control of their army without having to seek permission from the U.S.?

Yoon attempted a military coup imperilling everything the South Korean people have worked to build since they got rid of their last dictator. He should be in a prison cell, charged with treason, his estate should be forfeit and if he ever leaves prison, he should be banned from holding any office for the rest of his wretched life.

Never understood why Yoon was so liked by outsiders over Moon. His hardline North Korea stance I suppose.

@GBR48 - He should be in a prison cell

Yoon’s approval rating hit a low of 17 percent last month, according to South Korea’s Dong-A Ilbo newspaper. South Korean presidents serve for one five-year term, meaning he won’t be eligible to run for reelection. Yoon’s party also suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections in April.

The National Assembly can impeach the president if more than two-thirds of lawmakers vote to do so. Yoon’s conservative People Power Party controls 108 seats in the 300-member legislature and at least eight would need to cross the aisle for an impeachment vote to succeed. The constitutional court then decides whether to uphold the legislature’s impeachment motion. The court has only six of its nine judge seats filled, which could impact proceedings, according to local media reports.

quercetumDec. 4 10:41 pm JST

South Korean was never a fully sovereign country.

Well we know the South Korean coast guard is not forced to enforce lines they can't change.

We still do not know exactly how it happened. It's too early to make any judgments.

Let's not ignore the bigger issue here: South Korea apparently has some impressive laws to shut down martial law that both the US and Japan could use.

Yoon attempted a military coup imperilling everything the South Korean people have worked to build since they got rid of their last dictator.

LOL, Yoon has been a breath of fresh air compared to all the DPP dudes, whom are mostly from NK eg Moon, and are communist sympathisers. NK is more entrenched in SK government than you think.

They even had a hand in halving compulsory military service in SK by giving females dispensation, they had an entire (woke extreme) department made up that Lee hasn't been able to abolish, despite having mandate.

Yoon's wife was setup by her own pastor (with Lee connections), he handed over a Dior handbag that he said was given to him but didn't want, but secretly filmed her accepting it. He had been involved in her and the flock's financial affairs for years. All the financial scandals of Yoon's wife originated from her pastor.

Yoon was a public prosecutor prior, so he had many enemies, but he's the most committed to democracy than ALL who came before him. Perhaps this is his weakness, ie not willing to play with all the other crooks.

The sooner Mr. Yoon is gone the better & faster the situation will get. There is NO Guarantee that he wont try it again but this time butter organized.

There is NO Guarantee that he wont try it again but this time butter organized

The Marshall declaration was from his Defense Minister, who has or will very soon resign. But you can't make this stuff up, ALL of them politics, business are all entwined...who's to say may be Samsung just want a party that let them sell high end chips to China...

Analysis thus far seems to be 'shoot first and ask questions later'. We still have no idea what triggered this incident/martial law = nature of these anti-state activities.

The DPK has been attempting to unilaterally push through a downsized budget proposal in the National Assembly. The proposed budget cuts target the entire allocation for special activity expenses of the presidential office’s secretariat and the National Security Office, as well as funds for the prosecution, the state audit agency and the police.

In addition, the DPK filed an impeachment motion against the head of the state audit agency for failing to audit the presidential residence relocation and against three prosecutors for not prosecuting Yoon's wife. The impeachment motion was scheduled for a plenary vote on Wednesday, but was postponed due to the martial law declaration and subsequent crisis.

Never understood why Yoon was so liked by outsiders over Moon. His hardline North Korea stance I suppose.

He appealed to male resentment of woman's rights in South Korea and an additional level of resentment that women are not subject to the draft like men are. Last there is the"4 B's movement" in South Korea that is seen as an organized campaign against men by women in South Korea.

The four core tenets to the 4B movement are:

no sex with men (Korean: 비섹스; RR: bisekseu),

no giving birth (비출산; bichulsan),

no dating men (비연애; biyeonae), and

no marriage with men (비혼; bihon).

Mr. Yoon sought the vote of males who oppose woman's rights. There are a lot of men in ROK that share that opposition.

@Sh1mon M4sada

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who briefly assumed the role of martial law commander, said Thursday that he learned of the martial law declaration through President Yoon Seok Yeol's public announcement on Tuesday night.

Martial law commander unaware of situation until Yoon's public announcement

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/356_387805.html