VOA新闻杂志2024--What to Know about South Korea's Short Period of Martial Law

What to Know about South Korea's Short Period of Martial¹ Law

South Korea's parliament moved to impeach² President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law and sent troops into the streets on Tuesday night.

For several hours, armed forces with helicopters and armored vehicles surrounded the parliament. Lawmakers had to climb walls to get into the building and used fire extinguishers to hold off the troops.

The lawmakers who were able to reenter the building rejected Yoon's martial law declaration with a 190-0 vote. Eighteen lawmakers from Yoon's party also voted against the declaration. The vote forced Yoon to lift martial law about six hours after it began.

Opposition³ parties then began the process of impeachment⁴.

Impeachment is a way for lawmakers to charge a public official with a crime while they are in office. Impeaching⁵ Yoon requires the support of two-thirds of the National Assembly and at least six of the nine Constitutional Court justices. The liberal opposition Democratic Party holds a majority in the 300-seat parliament and has called for Yoon's resignation.

A vote on the impeachment motion could be held as early as Friday, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min said.

Yoon said there was a plan to rebel

Yoon ordered martial law without warning in a speech late Tuesday. He promised to remove "anti-state" forces he said were planning to rebel. He accused the main opposition parties of supporting North Korea.

Yoon gave no direct evidence when he pointed⁶ to North Korea as a threatening force. Yoon has long held that a hard line is the only way to stop the North from following through on its nuclear threats against the South.

In the late 1980s, several South Korean strongmen spoke⁷ of the threat from the North when struggling to control protesters and political opponents in the South.

As president, Yoon has struggled to get his proposals through the opposition-controlled parliament. At the same time, Yoon and his wife have faced charges of corruption⁸.

What is martial law?

South Korea's constitution gives the president power to use the military to keep order in "wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states." That can include suspending civil rights and temporarily limiting the powers of the courts and government agencies.

But it also gives the National Assembly power to lift the declaration with a majority vote.

Some experts say the way Yoon declared martial law went far beyond his lawful⁹ powers. The constitution does not permit a president to use the military to suspend parliament. And many question whether the country really faces a situation comparable to war.

The opposition said Yoon's actions were "illegal and unconstitutional." The sudden declaration was also opposed by the leader of Yoon's own conservative party. Han Dong-hoon called the decision wrong and promised to "stop it with the people."

South Korea became a democracy only in the late 1980s, and military intervention¹⁰ in civilian¹¹ affairs is still a sensitive subject. South Koreans were in shock with the actions. And many expressed surprise and worry on social media over Yoon's announcement.

Words in This Story

impeach - v. to charge (a public official) with a crime done while in office

martial law - n. control of an area by military forces rather than by the police

armored - adj. covered in flat pieces of metal to protect against attack

fire extinguisher - n. a metal container filled with chemicals that is used to put out a fire

1 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

2 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

5 impeaching   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的现在分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

10 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。