Korean-American leaders express astonishment over martial law crisis in South Korea

Korean Americans expressed astonishment and concern about the martial law situation that occurred for about 2 hours and 35 minutes in South Korea from 11 p.m. on December 3 (local time).

Upon hearing the news of the declaration of martial law, Korean Americans in Southern California called for the impeachment and arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

On December 3, at noon, about 30 people from Korean-American organizations held an emergency press conference and a rally in front of the Consulate General of Korea in Los Angeles.

Korean Americans who attended the rally held placards that read, “Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law and destroyed the constitution,” “Yoon Suk Yeol should resign,” and “Ignorant, incompetent, and unruly president.” They denounced Yoon for taking responsibility for the current situation.

A group of Korean-American democratic advocacy associations issued a statement, strongly criticizing Yoon, saying, “We declare that Yoon Suk Yeol himself is the monster who tramples on the constitutional order, disturbs state institutions, plots civil unrest, and subverts and collapses the liberal democratic system as mentioned in Yoon Seok-yeol’s Proclamation of the Declaration of Martial Law.” They also said, “He should be judged by the law for treason against the Republic of Korea.”

The Korean-American pastors’ coalition, which includes 25 Korean American pastors, also issued a statement saying, “We declare that Yoon Suk Yeol himself is a traitor who has committed a constitutional coup,” and “This misjudgment, which does not know that the people’s anger cannot be quelled by martial law, will soon be seen as a mistake that shows his foolishness once again.”

The peace council of Korean relilgious groups, which includes representatives from the Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, and Won Buddhism communities, also issued a statement saying, “Korea has a history of democracy but it has been destroyed from the roots and the livelihood of the people has collapsed,” and “Yoon Suk Yeol is trying to bring the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.”

Eun-kyung Lee, 43, who shouted for Yoon Seok-yeol’s resignation at the scene, said, “When I woke up in the morning, I first heard this news and fell into a panic,” and “I realized that President Yoon Suk Yeol can do anything. I’m really worried about the Korean people, wondering what would happen if he started a war.”

“President Yoon Suk Yeol has turned the number one country in the world into the worst,” said Sung-up Jung, president of the Korea-U.S. Peace Association. ”This is ridiculous.”

The Consulate General of Korea in Los Angeles, where the rally gathered, said that it is “closely monitoring the current situation in Korea through media reports.”

Korean American politicians and LA residents expressed deep concerns.

Mi-hyun Lee, 56, of Long Beach, who introduced herself as a 25-year immigrant, said, “When I heard that the president, who was supposed to be communicating with the people, sent armored vehicles and soldiers to the National Assembly to arrest the Speaker of the National Assembly and representatives of the ruling and opposition parties, I felt like something from the 1980s came back to me,” and pointed out that “the future political turmoil will be entirely the responsibility of President Yoon.”

Senior Korean-American leaders also expressed deep concern. “The country I thought was a democratic country is not the country I knew,” said Jae-guk Wi, President of the Korean Veterans Association of the Western U.S. chapter. ”I hope people with good manners think of their country first.”

Tae-rang Lim, President of the Liberal Democratic Unity Society, said, “If the martial law was to be declared and lifted immediately, they should not have started in the first place,” adding, “The Yoon Suk Yeol government must take unlimited responsibility, but the opposing party should also abandon such dictatorial behavior.”

Korean-American politicians also spoke out in criticism. U.S. Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey pointed out that “this way of declaring martial law weakens the fundamental foundation of governance by the people and dramatically increases South Korea’s vulnerability at a time when the people should feel secure and stable.”

“I have deep confidence in the sense of responsibility that Koreans have for democracy,” said U.S. Representative Young Kim of California’s 40th district. ”I believe that they will overcome the current situation.”

“The core of democracy is to allow and encourage dissenting opinions,” said U.S. Representative Dave Min of California’s 47th district, criticizing President Yoon’s declaration of martial law as ”the worst act of suppressing political opponents” and pointing out that “such undemocratic behavior should not be tolerated.”

LA City Councilmember John Lee of Council District 12, also said, “We’re closely watching the situation in South Korea and hope that the South Korean government will work for the safety of its citizens and the future of the country.”

“At first, I thought it was fake news,” said LA City Commissioner Steve Kang, adding, ”Korea is one of the leading democratic countries in Asia, and I don’t know how to explain this situation to our friends.”

Many Korean Americans criticized the South Korean president for declaring martial law based on his subjective judgment and asked who would be responsible for the damage caused by this.

“I don’t know what the president wanted to do by declaring martial law,” said Alan Chun, who runs a convention booth production company. ”It’s an incident that has reminded many people of the trauma of martial law 44 years ago.”

“The president has revealed his limitations and set a self-defeating course,” said Sung-deuk Oak, professor of Korean Christianity at UCLA. ”I think the voices of impeachment will grow stronger in the political circles and among the people.”

Some called for restraint and persuasion to address the extreme polarization of South Korean politics.

Yeon-sook Kim, 61, said, “As the American media points out, I’m worried that all the things that Korea has built up recently will just go down the drain,” and added, “I hope they will stop political bickering for the greater good.”

BY BRIAN CHOI, HYOUNGJAE KIM, HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]