Republic of Korea
People's Ongoing Struggle to Block President's Use of Martial Law
In the Republic of Korea (ROK), the people's struggle against puppet governments in the service of U.S. imperialism has frequently been met with the brutal imposition of martial law to block their aspirations to set their own course and end U.S. domination. It was the U.S. imperialists who enshrined the right of the ROK presidents to invoke martial law against the people in the 1948 constitution, which created the ROK by dividing the Korean nation. Since then, martial law has been invoked 16 times, including for an extended period from 1979 until 1981, during which time it was used to violently suppress the people's democratic strivings in the Gwangju People's Uprising. The use of martial law and all that it represents remains profoundly reviled by the people. How to block its use by the president of the ROK is an ongoing preoccupation.
A bill to amend the constitution to restrict the president's ability to unilaterally declare martial law was introduced on April 3 by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. This bill came to be in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law in December 2024.
The preamble to the bill specifically referenced the Gwangju People's Uprising and other expressions of the desire of the people for democratic reforms. It was endorsed by five of the seven parties with seats in the legislature. On May 7, when the bill was voted on, members of the People's Power Party (PPP) abstained, and blocked it from receiving the two-thirds majority of the 300-seat National Assembly necessary to pass. Had the bill passed, it would have gone to a national referendum on June 3 concurrent with local elections.
In December 2024, President Yoon of the PPP, in a failed attempt to retain power, declared martial law. Yoon had just been impeached but made wild and baseless anti-communist claims to justify martial law and to cover up his profound and growing unpopularity due to rising inflation, unpopular changes to the public education system, nepotism and other issues. In the summer of 2024, more than 1 million people had signed a petition calling for his impeachment.
Yoon's attempt to impose martial law was ultimately defeated by the swift actions of the workers, students and ordinary citizens who in their thousands prevented the military from carrying out orders from then Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun to remove lawmakers from the National Assembly and detain them. Yoon was eventually criminally charged, his impeachment upheld by the Constitutional Court, and he was removed from office. In January this year Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power. A month later he was sentenced to life in prison for leading an insurrection against the constitutional order.
The recent failure of the bill aimed at restricting the president's ability to declare martial law is only a temporary setback. The Korean people's political consciousness is based on more than 78 years of opposing U.S. dictate and meddling and guides them in their political organizing aimed at freeing their country from U.S. domination and gaining control of their own affairs, including reunifying the Korean nation. They will surely prevail.
(With files from Asia Media Centre, Constitutionnet.org, Government of ROK)
This article was published in
Volume 56 Number 6 - June 2026
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/TML2026/Articles/MS560612.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca