US Deputy Secretary of State Calls Yoon's "Emergency Martial Law" a "Serious Misjudgment"

Kurt Campbell, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, a Leading 'Jihanpa'

Kurt Campbell, the second-highest official at the U.S. Department of State, evaluated President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law as a "badly misjudged" decision.

On the 4th (local time), at the Aspen Strategy Forum held in Washington DC, Deputy Secretary Campbell responded to a question about the situation in Korea by saying, "I think President Yoon Suk-yeol badly misjudged," and added, "I believe the memories of past martial law in Korea run deep and have caused a negative resonance." It is considered highly unusual for a senior diplomatic official to describe a decision by an allied nation's leader as a "misjudgment."

Reuters Yonhap News

When asked whether the U.S. considers its failure to detect the martial law declaration in advance as an intelligence failure, he said, "(The events in Korea) were highly unpredictable and unlikely," and added, "One thing I can say is that most of our communication channels within the Korean government?including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the Presidential Office?were deeply surprised by the martial law declaration."

However, he noted, "The Korean people were clearly prepared to assert that this was a very illegitimate process," and said, "I think we should take some comfort and reassurance from that." He further assessed that despite Korea's severe political polarization and division, the fact that both camps agreed that the martial law measures were a "serious problem" demonstrates the strength of Korean democracy, stating, "The fact that democracy in Korea and many countries in Asia and around the world remains strong is something we should reflect on deeply."

Deputy Secretary Campbell also reaffirmed the strength of the South Korea-U.S. alliance. He emphasized, "Korea will face challenging situations in the coming months," and said, "Our goal is to make it clear that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is absolutely solid." He added, "We will stand with them," and "They will be able to handle these issues through their own means and mechanisms."

Campbell is regarded as a prominent 'pro-Korea' figure who served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs during the Barack Obama administration. Earlier, at an event related to Japan, Deputy Secretary Campbell stated, "We are watching the recent developments in Korea with grave concern."

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