A South Korean opposition MP has described the chaos and worry of Tuesday night time, when he and different lawmakers scaled partitions to enter parliament and vote down the president’s declaration of martial legislation.

Talking in an interview with The Unbiased in Seoul, Jiho Cha mentioned the stunning flip of occasions for South Korean politics displays a world shift in direction of authoritarianism, and that he feared his nation would descend into “civil unrest, violence within the streets” if he and different MPs didn’t cease president Yoon Suk Yeol by way of democratic means.

Mr Yoon dramatically declared martial legislation in a nationwide tackle late on Tuesday night, triggering a right away backlash as members of the general public and opposition events rushed to the Nationwide Meeting. They overcame the troopers who had been deployed to dam them – though we now know they carried no reside ammunition – and the martial legislation order was voted down earlier than dawn.

Mr Cha, who’s now among the many opposition MPs from the Democratic Social gathering spearheading efforts to impeach President Yoon in a vote this Saturday, described the tense hours culminating in Wednesday morning’s reversal of the martial legislation order.

“Once we arrived on the Nationwide Meeting, the police had surrounded the constructing. It was clear we needed to discover a means inside to dam this martial legislation,” he mentioned. “If we didn’t vote, there would have been a civil motion from our folks towards this violent authorities. There was a excessive threat of accidents or deaths within the streets.”

Some MPs broke previous the police traces by crawling by their legs; one viral video confirmed Ahn Gwi-ryeong, 35, a spokesperson for the Democratic Social gathering, grabbing the barrel of a soldier’s rifle as she screams to be let previous. Others like Mr Cha climbed over a 1.5m-high boundary wall to enter the Nationwide Meeting grounds earlier than making their means inside.

“The MPs and residents coming collectively on the Nationwide Meeting confirmed the energy of our civil society,” mentioned Mr Cha. “They created a human barricade to guard us from police and navy intervention. Our colleagues and workers even used their our bodies as shields to guard MPs from the particular forces.”

As soon as contained in the meeting, lawmakers scrambled to assemble a quorum for the vote and barricaded the doorways, stopping troopers from coming into the meeting constructing. Mr Cha described the ambiance as “scary however resolute”, saying MPs understood the stakes had been larger than the typical vote in parliament.

By 1am on Wednesday 190 MPs – together with some from Mr Yoon’s ruling celebration – had gathered, a snug majority of the 300 who sit within the Nationwide Meeting. When speaker Woo Received-sik submitted a decision requesting martial legislation be lifted they voted unanimously in favour. The Cupboard then declared martial legislation revoked at 5.18am.

President Yoon declared martial legislation citing threats from “pro-North Korean, anti-state forces”, main many to imagine it was the results of some as-yet unspecified risk from South Korea’s nuclear-armed neighbour. As an alternative, it rapidly emerged that he meant to make use of the measure to grab again management for his lame duck administration, having suffered a convincing defeat in a legislative election earlier this yr.

Mr Cha describes the episode as solely the most recent “very unhealthy instance” of more and more determined and authoritarian manoeuvres by South Korea’s president, including: “However we confirmed the way it might be overturned by democratic resilience and swift motion.”

“This isn’t simply a difficulty for South Korea, it might occur wherever on this planet, even in democracies like Europe or North America,” he mentioned. “It displays a world development towards authoritarian tendencies.”

Regardless of efficiently seeing off the try and implement martial legislation, Mr Cha expressed considerations concerning the lingering harm to the nation’s democracy.

“Earlier than becoming a member of the Nationwide Meeting, I used to be a humanitarian activist and researcher working in battle and warfare settings. I by no means imagined going through one thing like this in South Korea. I grew up in post-dictatorship South Korea, however this martial legislation jogged my memory of the Nineteen Seventies and 80s. To see such authoritarian actions once more is complicated and deeply regarding,” he mentioned.

“President Yoon’s authoritarian tendencies are deeply worrying. He makes selections with out consulting his Cupboard or the ruling celebration. It’s changing into extra about private energy than governance.”

The opposition is now transferring to question President Yoon, accusing him of violating constitutional rules and jeopardising democratic norms. Doing so, nevertheless, requires a two-thirds tremendous majority – one thing Mr Cha says will probably be a problem.

“There’s a actual threat the impeachment could not move on 7 December, particularly if the [ruling] Folks’s Energy Social gathering prevents its members from collaborating within the vote,” he mentioned. “This may be a extreme blow to democracy.”

Main protests are anticipated for Saturday forward of the impeachment vote, although demonstrations might also happen earlier than then: a rally referred to as for Seoul on Thursday afternoon didn’t materialise. Demonstrators are demanding accountability, not only for the martial legislation declaration however for what they see because the erosion of democratic rules underneath Mr Yoon’s authorities.

Mr Cha mentioned it was an important second for the nation. “The impeachment could succeed or fail, however that is about multiple chief. It’s about defending our democracy from changing into a dictatorship once more.”