Why has South Korea’s president declared martial law?

In a dramatic and unnanounced move, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday in a live broadcast on YTN television. Yoon did not specify exactly what measures would be taken but justified the decision as necessary to ‘safeguard constitutional order’.

Yoon accused opposition parties, which have a majority in the South Korean parliament, of taking the parliamentary process hostage, a reference presumably to a motion by the opposition Democratic party to impeach some of the country’s top prosecutors and the rejection of the government’s recent budget proposal.

What on earth is Yoon up to playing with fire like this?

Rather more wildly, and perhaps to whip up popular support for his extraordinary move, Yoon mentioned the ‘threat of North Korean forces’ and his desire to ‘eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people’.

Yoon has been under severe pressure in recent months as he has struggled to get his agenda through.