Soldiers at the National Assembly following a martial law decree on early Wednesday. (Yonhap)
Religious groups in South Korea joined a growing voice denouncing the short-lived martial law order that lasted about three hours through early Wednesday.
“We the Methodists cannot be but shocked at the sudden martial law proclamation. It’s an affront to democracy,” said Kim Chung-suk, president bishop of the Korea Methodist Church, which represents some 1.2 million Methodists in Korea.
“The martial law is a betrayal of the trust people have given to the government. And it is unconstitutional, befitting a dictatorship,” Kim added in a statement.
In a separate statement, the Korean Church Human Rights Center echoed a similar sentiment, saying the martial law order was not only undemocratic but that Christians will topple the Yoon government should it continue to not heed the voice of the people.
The center grew out of the National Council of Churches in Korea, one of the four largest Christian groups in Korea, in September.
President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday, citing government paralysis prompted by the opposition-controlled National Assembly. The National Assembly voted down the decree, leading Yoon to announce the lifting of martial law per the Constitution early Wednesday morning.
