Large crowds have clashed with police outside the South Korean National Assembly after the country’s president declared emergency martial law in the country in a late night television address.
In brief, martial law is a temporary rule by military authorities in a time of emergency, when the civil authorities are deemed unable to function.
President Yoon Suk Yeol said martial law is necessary to protect the country from North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements.
South Korea’s main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung has condemned the move, calling it unconstitutional.
The move comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to disagree over next year’s budget bill.
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