Military helicopters land inside the National Assembly grounds to enforce martial law in Seoul on Wednesday. (National Assembly)
Religious groups in South Korea condemned the short-lived martial law order that lasted about three hours through early Wednesday, demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol explain his decision that led to unrest.
“There had been no conspicuous signs of aggression or threat of war. Still, martial law was declared. We have to ask if this was the right course of action by the commander-in-chief,” said the Rev. Matthias Ri Long-hoon, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.
Kim Chung-suk -- president bishop of the Korea Methodist Church, which represents some 1.2 million Methodists here -- struck a similar note.
“We the Methodists cannot be but shocked at the sudden martial law proclamation. It’s an affront to democracy,” Kim said in a statement.
“The martial law is a betrayal of the trust people have given to the government. And it is unconstitutional, befitting a dictatorship,” the statement added.
The National Council of Churches in Korea, one of the four largest Christian groups in Korea, called for holding Yoon “legally responsible” for invoking martial law that “was antidemocratic in nature.”
In a separate statement, the Korean Church Human Rights Center, spun off from the NCCK in September, said the martial law order was not only undemocratic but that Christians would topple the Yoon government should it continue refusing to heed the people’s demands.
Meanwhile, the national association of Won Buddhist clerics called for Yoon’s impeachment for clearly violating the Constitution.
President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law Tuesday evening, citing government paralysis prompted by the opposition-controlled National Assembly. The Assembly voted down the decree, forcing Yoon to lift the nationwide measure as required by law early Wednesday morning.
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