Bar Association: "Immediately Lift the Unconstitutional Martial Law"... Hanbeophyeop: "Will File a Constitutional Complaint"

The Korean Bar Association (President Kim Young-hoon) urged President Yoon Seok-yeol to immediately lift the unconstitutional martial law through a statement on the 4th.

In the early hours of the day, the Bar Association issued a statement titled "President Yoon Seok-yeol must immediately lift the unconstitutional martial law that destroys liberal democracy and the constitutional order," declaring, "We declare that President Yoon Seok-yeol's proclamation of martial law is an unconstitutional act that destroys liberal democracy and the constitutional order, and we urge the president himself to immediately lift the martial law."

Kim Young-hoon, President of the Korean Bar Association. Provided by the Korean Bar Association

The Bar Association pointed out, "According to Article 77, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, the president may proclaim martial law by law 'in times of war, armed rebellion, or a similar national emergency when it is necessary to respond to military needs or maintain public peace and order with armed forces.' However, according to Paragraph 5, 'when the National Assembly requests the lifting of martial law with the approval of the majority of the total members, the president must lift it."

They continued, "However, we do not even feel the need to verbally refute whether the current situation qualifies as war, armed rebellion, or a similar national emergency as described by the Constitution."

The Bar Association also stated, "Furthermore, the president proclaimed martial law and immediately closed the National Assembly, physically blocking the National Assembly's request to lift martial law," adding, "Thus, it is clear that the president's proclamation of martial law is unconstitutional both substantively and procedurally."

Finally, the Bar Association declared, "Therefore, the Bar Association declares that the president's proclamation of martial law is an act violating the Constitution, and strongly demands that the president recognize his mission to uphold the Constitution and laws and immediately lift the martial law himself."

The Lawyers for a Democratic Society also issued a statement on the same day, asserting, "President Yoon Seok-yeol's proclamation of martial law is an exercise of authority that violates the Constitution," and argued, "The reasons given for proclaiming martial law, such as the National Assembly's impeachment motion, clearly do not meet the requirements for martial law proclamation according to constitutional and legal interpretations."

Meanwhile, the Korean Association of Young Legal Professionals (President Lawyer Kim Ki-won), a youth lawyer organization, announced through a statement that they would file a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court regarding the president's proclamation of martial law.

The Korean Association of Young Legal Professionals stated, "The current situation is not war or armed rebellion as defined by the Constitution, nor is it a similar national emergency. It is also clear that it does not fall under the cases stipulated by the Martial Law Act, such as being in a state of armed conflict with the enemy or extreme disruption of social order making the performance of administrative and judicial functions significantly difficult," adding, "Until just before the president proclaimed martial law, the citizens of the Republic of Korea were living peaceful daily lives, and the ruling party leader also expressed the intention to stand with the people against the president's proclamation of martial law."

They emphasized, "The president's proclamation of martial law and the accompanying exercise of public authority constitute unconstitutional and invalid exercises of public authority that do not meet the requirements set by the Constitution and the Martial Law Act and must be immediately lifted."

Furthermore, the Korean Association of Young Legal Professionals urged, "We call on the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and others to promptly confirm that the president's proclamation of martial law and the accompanying exercise of public authority are unconstitutional and invalid, and we plan to file a constitutional complaint on the morning of the 4th."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.