Martial law soldiers are surrounded by citizens on Yeouido's National Assembly avenue after the resolution to lift President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration passed in the plenary session early on Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
One of the mysteries surrounding President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on the night of Tuesday, which lasted only six hours, is why the armed forces that so easily entered the National Assembly did not actively block the vote to lift martial law.
The troops were swiftly deployed to the Assembly specifically to prevent the plenary vote that could nullify martial law, and as they were armed with live ammunition, they had more than enough capability to do so.
Online communities and social media have speculated that the operation's outcome was possible due to the so-called "inaction" of the soldiers who belonged to the younger generation of millennials and Gen Zers.
While it is noted that the military leadership failed to provide clear operational instructions to the 707th Special Mission Group of the Army Special Warfare Command deployed on-site, leading to confusion, there is also a theory that soldiers deliberately carried out their duties passively, recognizing the illegality of arresting members of the National Assembly — a constitutional institution.
One martial law soldier deployed to the National Assembly bows in apology to citizens while withdrawing early on Wednesday. Captured from TV Heo Jae-hyun's YouTube channel
Young troops: Consoling citizens, offering apologies
This restraint allowed lawmakers to gather and pass the motion to lift martial law despite the presence of armed soldiers.
On Wednesday, a live broadcast video from the YouTube channel MediaMongu, which gained traction in online communities, captured scenes of soldiers consoling citizens who had been pushed back during their advance into the National Assembly's main building the previous night. The footage appeared to show soldiers were forced into carrying out orders against their own will.
On the same day, another YouTube channel, TV Heo Jae-hyun, released footage of martial law soldiers repeatedly bowing in apology to citizens during their withdrawal after the resolution to lift martial law was passed in the plenary session.
Despite the unprecedented situation of over 280 armed troops, including snipers, storming the National Assembly, there were minimal casualties among staff and citizens during the operation.
Online commenters pointed out the apparent lack of urgency in the soldiers' actions.
One online commenter said, "When the staff inside the Assembly resisted by spraying fire extinguishers, you could tell the troops were just pretending to advance. They couldn't disobey orders, but they also couldn't fight citizens, so they just acted like they were following through."
Martial law soldiers withdraw from the National Assembly early on Wednesday after lawmakers passed the resolution to lift martial law. Yonhap
Another said, "Judging by their use of night vision goggles, cutting the power must have been a basic part of the operation plan. If they had done that, the Assembly wouldn't have been able to hold the vote."
They added, "If the Special Forces had acted with the precision they were trained for, they could have subdued the unarmed staff in less than five minutes."
A Facebook user surnamed Kwon said in a post, “Today's young soldiers are well-educated and fully aware of politics and the law, so they would have known that interfering with a parliamentary vote is unconstitutional. In such a situation, it was clear that they made only a minimal show of advancing while trying their best to refrain from using force.”
He added, “Every second they delayed through inaction bought enough time for the Assembly to gather the necessary quorum of lawmakers, allowing them to calmly pass the unanimous resolution to lift martial law.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.