Democratic Party fans claims Yoon is planning martial rule

Kim Yong-hyun, the defense minister nominee, speaks during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly on Monday. (Yonhap)

The Democratic Party of Korea continues to fuel unsupported claims that President Yoon Suk Yeol is trying to declare martial law nationwide with his recent shake-up of the defense leadership.

Democratic Party lawmakers, including the party’s chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung, have repeatedly raised suspicions that Yoon is preparing to establish martial law in South Korea, claiming to have “sources.”

The main opposition party claims that Yoon nominated his close ally Kim Yong-hyun -- retired three-star general and the head of the presidential secretary service -- as the new defense minister to eliminate possible protest within his Cabinet in the event martial law is imposed.

The evidence that the party claims to have is the declassified documents on martial law from the final days of impeached former conservative President Park Geun-hye. The party claims that the documents serve as possible signs that Yoon is planning martial rule -- a presidential power under the Constitution.

According to the documents, the validity of which is contested, the defense security command at the time reviewed scenarios of martial law possibly being put in place in anticipation of protests calling for the impeachment of Park escalating into a violent riot across the nation.

The Park-era documents from 2017, already scrutinized during the administration of former President Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party, have no apparent connection with the current administration. A Moon-era investigation concluded there was no illegal plot to institute martial law.

At Kim’s confirmation hearing Monday, the Democratic Party failed to present evidence to link his nomination with plans to initiate martial law, or that he president has such intentions.

Throughout the Democratic Party national convention that wrapped up last month, the idea of impeaching Yoon was a central theme, being floated by top candidates for leadership posts. The party leadership team elected at the convention, building on the narratives that Yoon is “impeachable,” has pushed the claims that the president is preparing for martial law in response to calls for his impeachment.

The defense minister nominee rejected the martial law accusations by the Democratic Party as “political propaganda that only creates fear and confusion.” When asked if he would propose declaring martial law to the president if he became the defense minister, he said he “has no intentions whatsoever” of doing so.

Jeong Hye-jeong, spokesperson for the president, told reporters Monday that the Democratic Party’s “martial rule conspiracy” appeared to be a “part of the opposition’s ploy to get the impeachment movement going.”

“Martial law is not even a consideration,” she said.

In a statement Tuesday, the ruling People Power Party said the Democratic Party was pushing “baseless conspiracy theories” based on documents that were already debunked through the investigation held under the Moon administration.

By Kim Arin(arin@heraldcorp.com)