Yoon, who hails from the conservative People Power Party, was elected in 2022. But the Democratic Party’s landslide victory in a parliamentary election earlier this year left him a lame duck halfway through his presidency.
In his address, Yoon accused the Democratic Party of sympathizing with Pyongyang and paralyzing the government with anti-state activities.
But his martial law declaration shocked even his own party, with People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon calling it “wrong.”
“We will stop it along with the people,” Han said.
Right after Yoon’s announcement, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun called for a meeting of key commanders and asked the military to stay on emergency guard, Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Martial Law Commander Army General Park An-soo announced that all media would now be under military censorship and that political activities are banned.
“We prohibit any act that denies the liberal democratic system or attempts to overthrow it, and prohibits fake news, manipulation of public opinion, and false propaganda,” he said.
