‘Martial law move hands North Korea propaganda victory’

South Korean lawmakers are set to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law was reversed. Dr Derek Bolton, expert in South and North Korean affairs at the University of Reading, comments on the incident. 

“President Yoon's martial law declaration represents a deeply concerning moment for South Korean democracy. The declaration has troubling parallels with South Korea's pre-democratic era of the 1980s, when martial law was a tool of authoritarian control. 

“This was a desperate domestic political manoeuvre by an embattled president facing falling approval ratings and corruption scandals. Invoking threats from North Korea as the reason for declaring martial law has backfired on President Yoon, as this has created a constitutional crisis at home and has handed South Korea’s neighbours a significant propaganda victory.”