Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: Late Tuesday night, as Koreans settled into bed, South Korea's
Speaker 2: president Yun songyoul, shocked the nation by declaring martial law
Speaker 2: for the first time in nearly forty years. Or In
Speaker 2: a live television broadcast, Yun said he imposed the extreme
Speaker 2: measure to protect freedom and constitutional order and to defend
Speaker 2: the country, which he said is falling into ruins.
Speaker 1: Are you Jonjong Pisang?
Speaker 2: Within hours, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of South
Speaker 2: Korea's National Assembly building despite the freezing cold, and around midnight, protesters,
Speaker 2: armed soldiers and lawmakers converged on the building as the
Speaker 2: members of parliament tried to enter it. Lawmakers on all
Speaker 2: sides denounced the martial law declaration, including the leader of
Speaker 2: Yun's own Conservative party, and by early morning, lawmakers had
Speaker 2: unanimously passed a resolution demanding that martial law be revoked.
Speaker 2: Under the mounting pressure, Yun went on live television again
Speaker 2: and backed down, promising to lift the emergency measure heja question.
Speaker 2: In the end, Korea was only under martial law for
Speaker 2: about six hours, but the shock move has plunged the
Speaker 2: country into a political crisis.
Speaker 1: The whole drama lasted only several hours, but its ramification
Speaker 1: is going to be lasting for weeks, if not month
Speaker 1: to come.
Speaker 2: Sam Kim is a Bloomberg Economy and government reporter based
Speaker 2: in Seoul.
Speaker 1: I think it's a matter of time before there's possibly
Speaker 1: another round of certain political chaos, depending on how Yun
Speaker 1: reacts to what the parliament is trying to do, which
Speaker 1: is to impitch him. In the meantime, Error concerns that
Speaker 1: this will have a long term impact on the economic
Speaker 1: strength of the country.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Big Take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm
Speaker 2: Wanha today on the show, What exactly happened on the
Speaker 2: ground during six hours of martial law in South Korea,
Speaker 2: What happens next, and what's at stake for the country's
Speaker 2: political and economic stability. In a span of just six hours,
Speaker 2: South Korean President Yunsonyoul invoked martial law for the first
Speaker 2: time in more than forty years, and then quickly revoked
Speaker 2: it under pressure. We asked Bloomberg Sam Kim to take
Speaker 2: us through the chaotic, intense events. Sam, what was your
Speaker 2: reaction when you first heard the news about martial law
Speaker 2: being declared.
Speaker 1: To hear that a prison declared martial law in a
Speaker 1: country I've been living in for what for decades now,
Speaker 1: It was just surreal because it is something that you
Speaker 1: would see in a history book. He just wouldn't imagine
Speaker 1: something like this would happen. The last time the martial
Speaker 1: law was imposed was around I think nineteen eighty, when
Speaker 1: long time President Pak CHUNGI was assassinated and the military
Speaker 1: took over the country. During that interim period, what happened
Speaker 1: was a deadly suppression of an uprising in a city
Speaker 1: called Guangju in the southwest of South Korea. Hundreds of
Speaker 1: people died there as they were uprising against the military fronta.
Speaker 1: So the word martial law immediately invokes that image of
Speaker 1: bloody of risings, and I think that's probably because of
Speaker 1: those years of military influence and power that really struck
Speaker 1: fear in the hearts of almost every South Korean.
Speaker 2: It sounds like no one had a good sleep in
Speaker 2: South Korea. What was it like on the ground overnight
Speaker 2: after martial law was declared?
Speaker 1: There was a lot of chaos, I bet and I
Speaker 1: don't live very far from the National Assembly, actually, it's
Speaker 1: just across the river. And after I woke up and
Speaker 1: heard the news. I went out to the balcony because
Speaker 1: my wife was telling me that there seemed to be
Speaker 1: choppers flying over our apartment complex, and I did hear
Speaker 1: them too. What helicopter I saw was landing on the
Speaker 1: National Assembly and it almost felt like there was some
Speaker 1: type of combat or battle on the ground of the
Speaker 1: National Assembly. It's the kind of scene that you would
Speaker 1: see in a movie with troops swooping down in order
Speaker 1: to quall a bunch of opponents. And then there were
Speaker 1: crowds outside the National Assembly complex holding up pluck cards
Speaker 1: banners that obviously had messages critical.
Speaker 2: Un But in the end, though lawmakers were able to
Speaker 2: gather in the building an assemble right Yes.
Speaker 1: In the end, one hundred and ninety lawmakers were able
Speaker 1: to make it inside the main hall of the National Assembly,
Speaker 1: and the one hundred and ninety lawmakers, all of them
Speaker 1: unanimously voted in favor of nullifying the president's decree. And
Speaker 1: from there the ball was in the court of President
Speaker 1: June and it took him several more hours to decide
Speaker 1: that yes, I'm going to accept this order from the
Speaker 1: Parliament to stop the martial law. So he made an
Speaker 1: announcement between four am and five am SAM.
Speaker 2: What did Yune's martial law order actually entail and how
Speaker 2: would it have restricted everyday life in South Korea?
Speaker 1: According to the martial Law Order from the Martial Law Command,
Speaker 1: it basically banned all types of political activities, including what
Speaker 1: would happen inside the National Assembly, and also said it
Speaker 1: would ban any types of rallies and the media should
Speaker 1: be helpful with what it publishes. So it's a very
Speaker 1: broad sort of sweeping order that would have really stifled
Speaker 1: a lot of the activities and rights that South krestent
Speaker 1: have been enjoying for decades since they turned into a
Speaker 1: democracy about for decades ago.
Speaker 2: And how did President you justify why he declared martial
Speaker 2: law in his national address?
Speaker 1: The statement that he put out basically refers to what
Speaker 1: he called anti government forces secretly operating inside the country
Speaker 1: to subvert the government. If there's a war, the president
Speaker 1: does have the power to impose a martial law. Or
Speaker 1: a situation that is likened to a war or a
Speaker 1: massive national disaster where you would actually need to have
Speaker 1: some control of the way people act, you would need
Speaker 1: a martial law. But that night, I didn't feel that
Speaker 1: as I was going to sleep.
Speaker 2: I imagine most Koreans did not either.
Speaker 1: No, not at all.
Speaker 2: Sam. How is President Une seen politically before this declaration
Speaker 2: of martial law? How popular was he?
Speaker 3: He does not really have much support from the parliament
Speaker 3: because in the April elections, the ruling party was defeated
Speaker 3: pretty heavily by the opposition, which means the parliament is
Speaker 3: controlled by the opposition, and the support that he needs
Speaker 3: to push forward with his policies just isn't going to
Speaker 3: come from the parliament.
Speaker 1: And June was feeling more and more cornered and isolated.
Speaker 2: And Sam, the fact that President Yune felt so isolated,
Speaker 2: how might that have played into his decision to declare
Speaker 2: martial law.
Speaker 1: I think President Yune felt a huge amount of hostility
Speaker 1: from the opposition, and he felt that he was losing
Speaker 1: his ability to run the government the way he wanted to.
Speaker 1: He certainly felt quartered by a parliament almost completely controlled
Speaker 1: by the opposition, and the April parliamentary election produced a
Speaker 1: National Assembly that had the power to im pitch him
Speaker 1: if they really wanted to do that. And at the
Speaker 1: same time, his own ruling party was now being led
Speaker 1: by someone who started to become at odds with the
Speaker 1: president on top of all the pressure he had been
Speaker 1: feeling already. You could almost argue that he kind of snapped.
Speaker 2: Here after the break, what's next for President Yun and
Speaker 2: what this means for US South Korean relations? On Wednesday morning,
Speaker 2: South Koreans were still reeling from the shocking events that
Speaker 2: happened overnight when President Yunsung yule declared martial law before
Speaker 2: revoking it just hours later. Since then, protesters have been
Speaker 2: calling for President Yun's resignation, while lawmakers are working to
Speaker 2: impeach him.
Speaker 1: The political chaos has been unfolding at a speed that
Speaker 1: I have not seen before.
Speaker 2: That's Bloomberg's Sam Kim again.
Speaker 1: We're seeing the cabinet offering to step down and mass
Speaker 1: and the opposition parties are joining forces to submit an
Speaker 1: impeachment motion to make sure that president is going to
Speaker 1: be pitched and also prosecuted for what they call treason.
Speaker 1: So right now, in the middle of an unfolding crisis politically.
Speaker 2: In the morning, when South Korean markets opened after the
Speaker 2: chaotic night, Korean shares and currency tumbled. They regained ground
Speaker 2: after authorities vowed to provide unlimited liquidity to markets. Still
Speaker 2: Sam says there are concerns about South Korea's economy in
Speaker 2: the face of the political uncertainty.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of policymakers are very concerned at
Speaker 1: the moment of the potential economic impact this could have.
Speaker 1: It could dent some of the investor confidence in the country.
Speaker 1: There's some concerns that the political chaos in Tumult could
Speaker 1: have a very negative impact on the credit ratings for
Speaker 1: the country. If you're a foreign investor who wants to
Speaker 1: buy treasury bonds from South Korea have to worry about
Speaker 1: the political risk that is associated with the bond. And
Speaker 1: there's a lot of economists now saying that we're probably
Speaker 1: going to see the one dollar rag staying elevated for
Speaker 1: some time, meaning that it's going to stay weak for
Speaker 1: some time to come. So no one's out of the
Speaker 1: woods at the moment with the economy.
Speaker 2: And geopolitically, I wonder what is at stake, especially for
Speaker 2: the US, one of Korea's most important allies.
Speaker 1: President Yune has been a fan of the alliance with
Speaker 1: the US. He's been a staunch supporter of doing more
Speaker 1: with the US and reducing reliance on China. In the
Speaker 1: realms of diplomacy in South Caare's trade with China has
Speaker 1: certainly been weakening compared to the trade with the US.
Speaker 1: I think the US maintains the view that software are,
Speaker 1: regardless of who's in power, will remain a very important
Speaker 1: ally because if you look at the map, southcare still
Speaker 1: is at the tip of the spear that the US
Speaker 1: based has in terms of its military power and its
Speaker 1: ability to protect influence in Asia. But it would certainly
Speaker 1: make it more difficult if there's someone in power in
Speaker 1: Seoul who does not really like the way the US
Speaker 1: manages his policy in this region. Right, if you're someone
Speaker 1: in Washington, you would certainly like to have someone who
Speaker 1: is more favorable to US policies. And when the US
Speaker 1: is trying to control the power that China is wielding
Speaker 1: in the region.
Speaker 2: And how might China view all of this with what's
Speaker 2: happening in Korea, They must be watching this very closely.
Speaker 1: They would want a politically friendly government in Seul for sure, right,
Speaker 1: a government that's more friendly toward Beijing, that is what
Speaker 1: they want. I don't know whether stability matters as much
Speaker 1: as how friendly Soul is going to be toward Beijing,
Speaker 1: but n has been someone that has made it clear
Speaker 1: that they're going to side with the US rather than China.
Speaker 1: But with the political risk for him now him being threatened,
Speaker 1: I think this could potentially change the whole landscape in
Speaker 1: the region.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about this political risk facing you now. Things
Speaker 2: are moving so swiftly on the ground in South Korea.
Speaker 2: The opposition party introduced a bill to impeach President Un.
Speaker 2: How will this play out?
Speaker 1: That's a very good question. I think they'll actually play
Speaker 1: by year going forward. What I mean by that is
Speaker 1: they're going to completely demand Un step down and that
Speaker 1: will pave the ground for a rather prompt and quick
Speaker 1: election without having to go through all the political wrangling,
Speaker 1: and there will also be a long series of legal
Speaker 1: proceedings that would just hire a lot of people out.
Speaker 2: How many votes do they need to impeach him?
Speaker 1: I believe they will need two thirds of the parliament.
Speaker 1: So the parliament has three hundred lowmakers, that means you
Speaker 1: would have to have the support from two hundred. The
Speaker 1: opposition parties do not have two hundred, so you would
Speaker 1: have to acquire a few dozen lawmakers voicing their support
Speaker 1: for your bill. And given that the ruling party was
Speaker 1: also very upset and very sorry to the public about
Speaker 1: what happened with the president. I think there's a good
Speaker 1: chance some of the people in the ruling party might
Speaker 1: agree with the motion.
Speaker 2: It sounds like the next few days and weeks are
Speaker 2: going to be really critical for President Yun and for
Speaker 2: South Korea.
Speaker 1: I think it'll be a time when we're going to
Speaker 1: be hearing from Yune what he plans to do. Is
Speaker 1: he going to be stubborn, Is he going to regret
Speaker 1: his decision? Is he going to be conciliatory. The ball
Speaker 1: is in his court, and I think the parties in
Speaker 1: the parliament are waiting for him to do something so
Speaker 1: they can plan their next step. Another question I think
Speaker 1: we could be asking while we wait for you and
Speaker 1: to respond, is if it does somehow step down or
Speaker 1: getting pitched, who is going to replace him? Who is
Speaker 1: the next person that would lead this kind That's the
Speaker 1: question everybody will be asking.
Speaker 2: This is the big take Asia from Bloomberg News. I'm wanha.
Speaker 2: This episode was produced by Young Young, Naomi m and
Speaker 2: Jessica Beck. It was mixed by Alex Sugiera and fact
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