FLASH
Shkruar nga Dritan Haxhiraj 
The strangest military coup the modern world has experienced...
It started at 15:15 EST, and ended at 17:45 EST.
The South Korean president's imposition of martial law and the National Assembly's swift vote to call for an end to the decree have left the country with a host of strange questions about the president's political calculations and the country's future.
Late Tuesday evening, December 3, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol stunned his country and the world with an attempt to impose martial law.
In his announcement, Yoon cited budget deadlock, impeachment of government officials and "violation of constitutional order" as motives, and said "the opposition-led National Assembly has become a den of criminals and is trying to paralyze the country's judicial administration."
After the decree, the General Special Forces of the An-Soo Army took command.
They issued an ultimatum placing immediate and comprehensive restrictions on political parties, public demonstrations and labor organizing - the foundations of Korean democratic activism. The decree even placed all media under military control.
Political leaders across the spectrum quickly denounced the move.
In an emergency session late at night, with the military surrounding the building and protesters massed outside, all 190 members of the 300-seat National Assembly present voted to block the decree.
The rejection calls for the president to end martial law, but does not specify a time frame for doing so.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Woo Won-Sik, declared the decree "null and void" and added that "The people must calm down."
The National Assembly will defend democracy with the help of the people."
Yoon's miscalculation reveals the depth of his administration's crisis and desperation to deal with political turmoil within his own party.
The president, who took power in 2022, has a thousand aunts today.
His administration has also faced a series of scandals and investigations, ranging from bribery allegations to conflicts of interest among cabinet officials, including the President's wife.
This attempt to overcome democratic institutions proves a desperate overreach or gross undemocratic impulses on the part of President Yoon.
The parallels with Korea's era of military dictatorship - from 1961 to 1987 - are striking.
The regimes of Park Chung-Hee and Chun Doo-Hwan maintained power through martial law, suppressing the civil liberties and rights that Yoon tried to curtail and emulate.
The victory of the democratic movement in 1987 came through mass protests and civil resistance, establishing civilian control that is now deeply embedded in Korean political culture.
Yoon's allegation of North Korean sympathizers within the opposition—another reason he cited for his decree—also revives the justification for martial law used by military dictatorships in the mid-twentieth century: war with the North and an unfounded fear of spies within the South.
But the last three decades have shown that Koreans will not tolerate the return of autocrats to democratic developments.
The 2016-17 candlelight vigils that peacefully ousted President Park Geun-Hye demonstrated this civic engagement.
Korean civil society, from student groups to religious organizations, has powerful networks that can quickly mobilize against perceived threats to democracy.
December 3, 2024 was the test.
The Korean lecture in less than three hours went around the world to show everyone that the US investment in decades to build strong institutions is FACT.
This is thanks to the democratic culture of civil society, institutions and social culture in South Korea./ Pamphlet
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