How South Korea woke up to the shortest martial law in history
Al Jazeera
And how a nation quashed its first attempted coup in more than 40 years, in just a matter of hours.
Seoul, South Korea – On Wednesday morning, many in South Korea woke up to a reality they had not dreamed of.
The previous night, the country’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, had imposed martial law.
Using ambiguous language, he proclaimed the need to “protect the country from North Korean communists and eliminate antistate elements” while stating a need to “rebuild and protect the country from falling into ruin”. Sending troops to blockade the National Assembly building as midnight approached, Yoon attempted to stop parliamentarians from interfering in his plans.
Yoon failed: Legislators entered parliament and voted to lift martial law, which eventually lasted only two hours.
By morning, South Korea had survived its first attempted coup in more than 40 years.
