South Korea Reflects During One-Year Anniversary of Martial Law Declaration

South Korea is reflecting one year after an abortive declaration of martial law — with the effects still being felt.

Transcript

00:00It's exactly one year since South Korean lawmaker Kim Sang-wook's life took a sudden turn.

00:05He's back in front of the National Assembly building where it all went down.

00:09On December 3rd, 2024, then-President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law for the first time since the 1980s,

00:16polarizing the country between Yoon supporters and those who felt he'd crossed a big line.

00:20As troops swarmed Seoul, Kim rushed to the Parliament building,

00:24facing down armed soldiers and participating in the vote that undid the declaration a few hours later.

00:29Kim was a member of Yoon's People Power Party, but he felt Yoon had gone too far.

00:35He recalls his complex feelings after voting for Yoon's impeachment.

00:39My first thought was, we stopped it. We finally stopped a broken, runaway locomotive.

00:46My second thought was, I was at that crucial juncture, a historic moment when the nation was on the verge of collapse.

00:52My third thought was, what do I do? What do I do now?

00:56My fourth thought was, I've nowhere to go.

00:59He's since switched political sides, joining the Democratic Party of Korea.

01:04Kim wasn't the only one who made difficult choices last December 3rd.

01:08At the time, Ryu Hyuk was the Inspector General at the Justice Ministry.

01:13He headed straight to his office, where officials were already talking about the martial law declaration.

01:18He wrote a hasty letter of resignation, shouted, quote,

01:22no matter your political views, martial law is not acceptable, and walked out.

01:26He thinks others would have joined him had the martial law order not been reversed so fast.

01:31A year on, he's still thinking about his next step in life.

01:35Before the impeachment, I was really stressed and went through difficult times.

01:41But after that, even if there were various problems, it was nothing compared to the chaos before the impeachment trial.

01:47Currently, I am doing well and at ease, and I'm now considering what I should do going forward.

01:56But thousands of ordinary South Koreans took to the streets too, adding to the pressure.

02:00Kim Da-in was one of them.

02:02She sped to the parliament building, arriving after martial law was lifted, but before the chaos had passed.

02:08She went viral for a video of her stopping a tank.

02:12It's become a defining moment in her life that has this university student confident she can achieve anything.

02:19As a woman who stopped a tank, what I wanted to say was I want to keep stopping it.

02:27A year on, South Korea has a new president, Lee Jae-myung.

02:31Today, he's addressed the nation, praising those who defended South Korea's constitution and democracy

02:36and declaring December 3rd People's Sovereignty Day.

02:39But he says there's still work to do, starting with punishing those behind the coup.

02:44And he also says the country must stay vigilant.

02:47The perpetrators attempted to destroy the entire constitutional order of South Korea

02:55and sought to rule the country with military violence above law and order.

03:00And the possibility of that becoming reality was extremely high.

03:04Such things can happen again at any time.

03:08The legal and political fallout of last year's events continue, making December 3rd, 2024,

03:13a date that will likely be remembered as a significant point in South Korea's history.

03:18Patrick Chen and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.