[Joint Statement]
We feminists around the world strongly condemn the South Korean president who attempted to violently seize power through martial law and military mobilization.
📌Everybody can add their name. The form is open until 7PM, December 7, KST.
👉Add your signature here: https://bit.ly/41naVdp
📌누구나 공동성명에 연명할 수 있습니다. 연명은 한국시간으로 12월 7일 저녁 7시까지 가능합니다.
👉연명하기 : https://bit.ly/41naVdp
* 한국어 공동성명문은 연명 마감 후 발표할 예정입니다.
On the evening of December 3rd, President Yoon declared martial law in South Korea. According to Article 77 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, the declaration of martial law is only allowed in the event of war, armed conflict, or a comparable national emergency, and it must be immediately relayed to the National Assembly. However, there was no such national crisis in South Korea to warrant the declaration of martial law. The only crisis present was a political one faced by President Yoon. In order to evade his personal crisis, President Yoon has undermined the democratic process, by going as far as violating the Constitution. This has pushed all people living in South Korea into harm’s way.
Immediately following the declaration of martial law, President Yoon mobilized the military in an attempt to seize control of the National Assembly. Troops surrounded the National Assembly premises, including by helicopters, and broke down windows in an attempt to enter the main assembly floors. Their actions aimed to obstruct the vote on lifting the martial law, which requires a parliamentary majority of 50% to pass. The troops also aimed their weapons at civilians gathered around the National Assembly. Although the decree was ultimately lifted, it was the courage and resilience of the civilians that prevented the situation from escalating further.
We feminists around the world strongly condemn President Yoon's declaration of martial law, abuse of power, and attempt to dismantle democracy through the use of violence. During his term, President Yoon has continuously undermined democracy, deepened inequality, and intensified violence and injustices. This trend is not unique to South Korea. We have repeatedly experienced similar situations in many of our countries, and continue to be affected by increasing violence and conservatism. The erosion of political processes affects us all, and in particular, severely threatens the most marginalized in our societies who are subject to exploitation and criminalization. In the context of continuing war, genocide, and violence in many parts of the world, we strongly condemn President Yoon’s mobilization of military troops to offset his own political crisis.
While the martial law has now been lifted, President Yoon and those complicit must be held accountable in order to ensure that such abuse of power does not happen again. We believe that resistance against state violence and militarism is feminist politics. We feminists around the world wish to express our deep concern regarding the events that happened in South Korea, as well as express our solidarity with all those in South Korea. We will continue to monitor the unfolding situation and take action as needed to ensure that the justice we demand is realized.
December 5th, 2024
[Joint Statement]
We feminists around the world strongly condemn the South Korean president who attempted to violently seize power through martial law and military mobilization.
📌Everybody can add their name. The form is open until 7PM, December 7, KST.
👉Add your signature here: https://bit.ly/41naVdp
📌누구나 공동성명에 연명할 수 있습니다. 연명은 한국시간으로 12월 7일 저녁 7시까지 가능합니다.
👉연명하기 : https://bit.ly/41naVdp
* 한국어 공동성명문은 연명 마감 후 발표할 예정입니다.
On the evening of December 3rd, President Yoon declared martial law in South Korea. According to Article 77 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, the declaration of martial law is only allowed in the event of war, armed conflict, or a comparable national emergency, and it must be immediately relayed to the National Assembly. However, there was no such national crisis in South Korea to warrant the declaration of martial law. The only crisis present was a political one faced by President Yoon. In order to evade his personal crisis, President Yoon has undermined the democratic process, by going as far as violating the Constitution. This has pushed all people living in South Korea into harm’s way.
Immediately following the declaration of martial law, President Yoon mobilized the military in an attempt to seize control of the National Assembly. Troops surrounded the National Assembly premises, including by helicopters, and broke down windows in an attempt to enter the main assembly floors. Their actions aimed to obstruct the vote on lifting the martial law, which requires a parliamentary majority of 50% to pass. The troops also aimed their weapons at civilians gathered around the National Assembly. Although the decree was ultimately lifted, it was the courage and resilience of the civilians that prevented the situation from escalating further.
We feminists around the world strongly condemn President Yoon's declaration of martial law, abuse of power, and attempt to dismantle democracy through the use of violence. During his term, President Yoon has continuously undermined democracy, deepened inequality, and intensified violence and injustices. This trend is not unique to South Korea. We have repeatedly experienced similar situations in many of our countries, and continue to be affected by increasing violence and conservatism. The erosion of political processes affects us all, and in particular, severely threatens the most marginalized in our societies who are subject to exploitation and criminalization. In the context of continuing war, genocide, and violence in many parts of the world, we strongly condemn President Yoon’s mobilization of military troops to offset his own political crisis.
While the martial law has now been lifted, President Yoon and those complicit must be held accountable in order to ensure that such abuse of power does not happen again. We believe that resistance against state violence and militarism is feminist politics. We feminists around the world wish to express our deep concern regarding the events that happened in South Korea, as well as express our solidarity with all those in South Korea. We will continue to monitor the unfolding situation and take action as needed to ensure that the justice we demand is realized.
December 5th, 2024