Wild, wild rumors on declaring martial law

The Democratic Party seems to confuse the Korea of 1980 with the Korea of 2024.

Kang Won-taekThe author is a professor of political science and international studies at Seoul National University.

I heard the tabooed mention of political intervention by the military for the first time under civilian rule in the spring of 2003 shortly after President Roh Moo-hyun took office. Someone in the audience during an academic seminar suddenly asked what the military was doing while the country was being ruined by a progressive president. The unwarranted question irrelevant to the theme of the seminar could have made the situation awkward. Thankfully, the audience found the comment silly and laughed it off.

It is bizarre to hear the ridiculous idea coming from the head of the majority opposition. During the first-time meeting with his ruling party counterpart, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party (DP) piped up about the theory of the government fiddling with martial law. He elaborated on the hearsay about a plot to arrest or detain opposition lawmakers to block them from demanding a revocation of martial law.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, right, talks with Rep. Kim Min-seok in a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly, Sept. 20. The two lawmakers persistently raised ungrounded suspicions over a government scheme to declare martial law. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]

I couldn’t believe my ears. The last time the military arrested and detained lawmakers to stop them from revoking martial law was on May 17, 1980, following a military coup in the wake of the assassination of President Park Chung Hee. The military became strictly apolitical since the 1987 Constitutional amendment aimed at institutionalizing direct voting to elect a president. Nearly four decades have passed since the democratization, and yet the head of the liberal party dug up the near-obsolete idea. Few would believe that prosecutor-turned-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who champions free democracy, harbored such a preposterous plot. It is shocking that Lee and other DP members raised the possibility of martial law in today’s world.

Korea has been steadily fostering democracy since the military rule ended. The first civilian President Kim Young-sam upended the politicization of the military. The principle of peaceful power transfer according to the law has never been violated. Overseas institutions all declared that democracy in Korea is well established. But Lee was suggesting that Korea could regress to authoritarian rule through military oppression.

It makes me wonder what age the DP is living in. General Chun Doo Hwan was able to seize power in 1980 through martial law and military force. But he couldn’t to turn to the military when he was politically cornered in 1987. Aspirations for democratization had been fiery, and the United States strongly warned against military intervention. More importantly, the military was apathetic about quenching civilian rallies to defend the ruling power. It didn’t want to repeat the same mistake as the 1980 civilian massacre in Gwangju. Had Chun declared martial law for the second time, he could have invited the gunpoint at himself from the military. The call on the military was impossible even under the Chun regime.

The heedless comment also disgraces our servicemen who live on pride and dignity about guarding the country against many odds. According to a Korea Research survey on confidence level in state institutions, the military drew the highest confidence of 41 percent while the legislature received the lowest of 9 percent.

The country has changed over the past three decades, but the DP is still mired in fighting dictatorship. The party seems to confuse the Korea of 1980 with the Korea of 2024. The country co-hosted the second Summit for Democracy with the United States last year and this year’s third summit with Denmark. The global fad of Korean culture represents the country’s maturity in democracy. If democracy regresses, Korea will have to surrender much of its international standing in economy, diplomacy and culture. Martial law clearly doesn’t fit contemporary Korea.

Nevertheless, the majority party continues to play with fake news and the martial law theory. The fiasco raises serious questions about Lee’s eligibility to command the military and whether the DP can be a reliable candidate to become the ruling power. President Yoon is unquestionably unpopular. Still, the DP and Lee hardly pose as a better substitute. Many voted for Yoon despite his lack of political experience, as they couldn’t trust Lee. That resulted in Lee’s marginal defeat in the last presidential election. Yet he and his party apparently didn’t learn any lesson from what happened.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.