Holy smokes.
I took my eye off a country for a couple of decades and suddenly this happens!
South Korean president declares martial law
President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea declared martial law late Tuesday.
ByDavid Brennan
December 3, 2024, 8:52 AM
LONDON – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law” in a televised speech on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Yoon said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s opposition, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.
“I declare martial law in order to eradicate the shameless pro-North Korea anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said, as quoted by ABC News editorial partner KBS.
Explaining his decision, Yoon accused the opposition-dominated parliament of “paralyzing” judicial affairs and the administration via 22 proposed cases of impeachment issued since the body convened in June. . . .
Listen, declaring martial law and parking yourself in the Blue House and telling everyone “come at me bro, I’m CIC of the most powerful army in Asia” is a proud South Korean tradition.
As of now, there are approximately 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. Here are some of the major units:
Eighth United States Army (EUSA): Headquartered at Camp Humphreys, this unit consists of about 20,000 soldiers.
Seventh Air Force (7 AF): Based at Osan Air Base, this unit includes around 8,000 airmen.
Naval Forces Korea (CNFK): Located at Busan Naval Base, this unit comprises about 300 sailors.
Marine Forces Korea (MARFORK): Also headquartered at Camp Humphreys, this unit includes about 100 marines.
Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR): Based at Camp Humphreys, this unit consists of about 100 special operations personnel.
United States Space Forces Korea: Also headquartered at Osan Air Base, this unit includes about 20 guardians.
These units work together under the United States Forces Korea (USFK) to support the United Nations Command (UNC) and the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC).
Is there anything specific you’d like to know about these units or their roles?
Now that I think about it, my childhood best friend’s mom lived through this thing a few times growing up in South Korea. She was born right after Rhee was kicked out. And then a succession of US propped up dictators.
While that is completely true
it should be noted that S Korea would have been under a dictatorship either way, (with or without US support.)
We absolutely cannot wash our hands of complicity, (irrepsonsibiliety) but it’s not like the US was standing between dictatorship and S Korea being Happy Joyous and Free.
True. If not for their succession of approved dictators they would have been under the rule of those Lunatics known as the Kims. And in Kim’s Korea, grass for food is not a guarantee.
The same way Russia and the Ukraine or Israel and Iran are attributable to the mental pigmy in the white house and his weak ass leadership on the world stage?
The badness of our role in S Korea (and decades ago I knew a thing or three about it) was that after WW2
We took control of Japan and took decisive steps to layout a path to democracy.
We took control of S Korea and shrugged and said “Whatever happens happens.” We did not so much cause there to be dictatorship to be there, but with a few simple-ish, sorta-easy steps we could have done there what we did in Japan.
