THIS is with reference to the report “S. Korean president to stay in jail on ‘evidence tampering’ concerns” (Jan 19). Yoon Suk Yeol has become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested as he is facing allegations of insurrection, which, if proven in court, may result in a life sen-

tence or even execution. The president’s Dec 3 declaration of martial law could last just six hours. The failure, in fact, clearly underlined the power of the people in a democratic dispensation.

The imposition of martial law across the country had been announced without approval from the cabinet, and the order asked the troops to cordon off the legislature in order to restrict the parliamentarians from conducting a vote on the legitimacy of the decision.

The people of South Korea were the ones who barricaded the legislature. The lawmakers rushed to the assembly and voted against the martial law. The unarmed people were neither chanting slogans against the country’s army, nor did the armed soldiers try to manhandle the situation or attack the civilians.

Together, they protected democracy. The short-lived martial law had suspended the fundamental rights of expression, movement, liberty and information. The intentions of the president were clear; he wanted to head a one-man administration, deciding everything without any difference of opinion.

During the crisis, the role of the cou-ntry’s bureaucratic administration was also remarkable. It functioned smoothly as if nothing unusual was happening. South Korean society as a whole demo-nstrated what an educated, politically astute nation is capable of even in times of sheer chaos.

Had the people not intervened, and had, instead, decided to stay home, the fate would have been much different.

Shuja Ahmed Awan
Shahdadkot

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2025