US Fails to Prevent Chaos in South Korea

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law yesterday, citing alleged “threats posed by North Korea's communist forces” within Parliament, and legislative gridlock blocking his agenda.

In a speech, Yoon claimed his political opposition had crippled the government by filing 22 impeachment motions against officials in the past six months, with nearly a dozen more planned. According to Yoon, his only option was to take unilateral control over the government.

Protests erupted in Seoul as hundreds of military troops stormed the Capitol building. The military was seen breaking the windows of the National Assembly building to enter as parliamentary aides used fire extinguishers to push them back.

The order seemingly came out of nowhere, shocking even members of the president’s own right-wing party. The former South Korean Foreign Minister Kyung-wha Kang claimed that the martial law declaration was not carried out constitutionally because “it was done out of the blue without going through the necessary requirement of going through a cabinet decision.”

Although the South Korean Parliament is divided, they voted unanimously, 190-0 to end the martial law just under three hours after it was declared. And after six chaotic hours, President Yoon lifted his order.

The US has nearly 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea, as the nation remains a vital ally in East Asia, right on the doorstep of America’s adversaries North Korea and China. Yesterday's turmoil in Seoul exposed a democracy more fragile than many Americans might have anticipated.

Hudson Institute Fellow Ezra Cohen observed that this event exemplifies the Biden-Harris administration’s intelligence failures if they were not aware this move was coming. Cohen called for Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, along with CIA Director Bill Burns, “to testify as to why the [intelligence community] failed to warn President Biden of this crisis.”

Over the weekend, the United States was also caught off guard by a group of Islamic terrorists in Syria blitzing their way into the key city of Aleppo and seizing it. Though perhaps a setback for Russia and Iran, as they are allies with the sitting Syrian government, a terrorist takeover looming on the horizon could destabilize the country and the region — something American intelligence likely should have caught.