INDIAN-AMERICAN lawmaker Ro Khanna on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to declare martial law in the country a day before to ban all political activity as “wrong and anti-democratic”.
In his post, the 48-year-old Democratic member of the House of Representatives from California, said, “President Yoon’s declaration of martial law banning all political activity is wrong and anti-democratic. I just met him with a bipartisan delegation in August, and he should know this egregious action hurts our alliance which is based on a commitment to democratic values.”
Khanna visited South Korea with US lawmakers in August
Khanna was in the east Asian nation in August this year along with colleagues from both the Democratic and Republican parties besides the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party where they expressed a strong solidarity for the US-Korean alliance and the economic prosperity and security that Seoul gives to the Indo-Pacific region in specific and to the world in general.
During their visit, the delegates met President Yoon and they spoke about the significance of Washington’s alliance with Seoul against challenges from regional countries such as China and North Korea. The US team also went to the Joint Security Area at the Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea to understand more about the American troops’ functioning there.
President Yoon’s declaration of martial law banning all political activity is wrong and anti-democratic. I just met him with a bipartisan delegation in August, and he should know this egregious action hurts our alliance which is based on a commitment to democratic values.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) December 3, 2024
The US’s Joe Biden Administration was reportedly caught off guard by the development in South Korea, which saw the declaration of martial law this week for the first time in 44 years. It was after decades of life under military-authoritarian rule that South Korea became one of the world’s vibrant democracies and a flourishing economy.
US closely watching developments in Seoul
Top officials in US establishments such as the White House, Pentagon and the Department of State said on Tuesday that they were closely watching the developments and keeping contacts with their South Korean counterparts. President Biden, who traveled to Angola this week, said he was “just getting briefed” on developments after completing an address, ABC News reported.
US officials said Washington did not have a prior notice of President Yoon’s plan to impose martial law, despite the two nations’ close alliance, the report added.
President Yoon accused the opposition of sympathizing with arch-rival North Korea and of anti-state activities, as the reason for imposing martial law. The Yoon administration withdrew the measure around six hours later after the country’s parliament voted to oppose it and people resorted to street protests.
The opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in the South Korean parliament, has filed along with some other opposition parties an impeachment motion against President Yoon, the country’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Thursday. Plans are underway to put the motion into a vote on Friday (December 6) or Saturday (December 7).
US deputy state secretary reacts
US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Wednesday that Yoon’s decision was a “badly misjudged” one, and it was seen as “deeply problematic” and “illegitimate”, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, police in South Korea launched a probe into the president for alleged “treason” related to the brief declaration of martial law, reports said.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Thursday, December 5, that the National Police Agency has been asked to investigate the president. Allegations of treason were also brought against Kim Yong Hyun, who recently quit as South Korea’s defense minister, former army chief of staff General Park An-su and Interior Minister Lee Sang min.
While a complaint for treason was filed against Yoon by a minor opposition party, another was submitted by a group of nearly 60 activists, the agency report added.
South Asians Globally
