‘Time-slip’ martial law declaration is key evidence of illegality

The South Korean public, shocked by the president’s declaration of martial law, must have been dumbfounded upon seeing the proclamation of six articles issued an hour later under the martial law commander’s name. The articles included measures like banning parliamentary and political party activities and enforcing media censorship, resembling scenes from a historical drama during a dictatorship.

Legal experts point out that Article 1 of the proclamation, which bans political activities of the National Assembly, is unconstitutional and illegal. Under the Constitution, the National Assembly retains the right to demand the lifting of martial law, meaning only the authority of the government or the court can be restricted by declaring martial law. Restricting the National Assembly’s activities is unconstitutional. The attempt to paralyze the National Assembly, a constitutional institution, raises the possibility of violating criminal law under the charge of ‘subversion of the national constitution,’ which constitutes treason. The ban on parliamentary and political party activities was not even part of the martial law proclamation issued 45 years ago, right after the October 26 incident. The sheer anachronism of such a proclamation, which even military regimes did not dare to enforce, is astonishing.

The martial law proclamation also states that “the press and publishers are subject to control by the martial law command.” Precensorship is unimaginable in a democratic nation. Did they intend to implement a ‘media directive’? Proclamation Article 5, which declares that “medical professionals on strike, including interns and residents, will be punished if they do not return to work,” is equally shocking. Targeting doctors specifically among essential medical personnel and using language like “punish” blatantly exposes hostility, rendering medical reform impossible and escalating conflicts surrounding medical school expansions.

It is unbelievable that a president, who was a former prosecutor general, announced an unconstitutional and illegal proclamation with legal advice from a senior presidential secretary for civil affairs and the minister of justice, who were also former prosecutors. The martial law commander, who claimed to have learned about the declaration from the president’s announcement, stated that he only adjusted the effective time to 11 p.m. upon receiving the proclamation. On what basis was such an absurd ‘time-slip’ proclamation created?