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South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

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Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#521

Post by exe34 »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #480
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is there an impeachment process for a constitutional violations There's an impeachment process. Creating a separate, faster one for constitutional violations is just inviting trouble.

If I recall correctly, I thought there was some legal provision in the US for the military to disobey unconstitutional orders. If it doesn't exist de jure , I suppose it always exists de facto , both in the US and elsewhere. I think it is always interesting when the curtain gets pulled back to reveal how all of our political systems and norms simply overlay the fact that power is the ultimate law of the land.

it's interesting that very few people would admit this, that society is founded upon violence.

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#522

Post by [deleted] »

Rapzid wrote: post #413
cuuupid wrote: post #4

Can someone ELI5 if this is a huge deal (like declaring martial law would be in the west), or if this is the equivalent of a "government shutdown" when similar budget impasses occur in the US?

This is absolutely bonkers. South Korea is one of the most advanced countries in the world with a strong democratic track record at this point. They are very proud of the country they built over just a few generations(and really since about 1990); no way they take this sitting down.

[deleted]

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#523

Post by maxace »

dataflow wrote: post #54

I feel like I'd seen absolutely nothing about South Korea in the news for a long time, and then suddenly woke up to this, with zero context. Do folks have any recommendations for how to keep up with global news at a high level so that you're not completely clueless when something like this happens? Like I mean some sort of "international edition" of an aggregator like Google News, I guess.

I don't think this particular issue was covered in advance, but The World Next Week is an excellent program

https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/world-next-week

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#525

Post by pessimizer »

always_imposter wrote: post #163

[flagged]

What this guy is pushing is far more in agreement with US administration policy than what the opposition supports. The problem is that the South Korean population doesn't support what either he or the US want. For example, the SK population (and recent presidents) have far more of a peaceful attitude towards the north than is tolerable for the US. As an example, when polled on supporting Ukraine (after the rumors that NK is sending support to Russia), South Koreans are 82% against it.

https://www.reuters.com/world/south-koreans-remain-opposed-s...

6 day old story, btw.

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#526

Post by tw1984 »

NickC25 wrote: post #369
aurareturn wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eight replies to my post and no one has mentioned China yet. Has China been accepted as a "real" enemy? To me, China is the main virtual enemy that politicians trout out to create fear and distraction.

Accepted? No idea. That said, China has stated that their long-term plan is to overtake our military, economic, and technological dominance. That's, at the very least, a clear signal that they want to beat us.

> That said, China has stated that their long-term plan is to overtake our military, economic, and technological dominance.

Any source on that? From what I have read, according to CCP's official mouthpieces[1], "China's development strategy focuses on continuous self-transcendence, and does not aim to surpass the US or any other country".

[1] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1276952.shtml

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#527

Post by dang »

bloomingkales wrote: post #32

Orwell being so right about governments using the constant threat of a virtual enemy has got to be one of the all time top on the money predictions ever. Up there with gravity and shit. I wish we could do something with this information, but alas, knowledge isnt power. Cersei Lannister: Power is power.

It's best to avoid generic tangents like this, as the site guidelines ask (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html). They tend to lead to generic flamewars, which are boring.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42306176.

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#528

Post by billy99k »

aurareturn wrote: post #328
lordgroff wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please--do tell more re: China. I hear a lot of parroting of negative talking point about China here in Canada, I see a lot of crazy footage from China that looks like the future, but I'd love to know more about your actual experience.

I'll tell you my experience: I was just in Shenzhen last month. It feels like a city that is 10 years ahead of any place in the US. The city felt extremely futuristic. Most cars on the road are EVs. Payments are all digital. Ordering at restaurants is on your phone. The entire city is extremely clean, civilized, efficient, safe which you can't say about any major US city. Hop on a high speed train at any time and go…

"I was just in Shenzhen last month. It feels like a city that is 10 years ahead of any place in the US. The city felt extremely futuristic. Most cars on the road are EVs. Payments are all digital. Ordering at restaurants is on your phone. The entire city is extremely clean, civilized, efficient, safe which you can't say about any major US city. Hop on a high speed train at any time and go to anywhere in China within a few hours."

It's easy to make changes quickly when the people making the change don't really have a choice. I've heard the murder rate in North Korea is almost 0 and the crime is very low compared to most other countries. The devil is in the details.

"When you're actually in China, the constant negative stories about China in your head will go away. What you'll see is just like any other place: people working hard, minding their own business, and generally friendly people."

There was never any doubt that the people are nice and friendly in China. The issue is the authoritarian government. As an example, do some research on how the Chinese government treats people from the LGBT community and get back to me.

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#529

Post by dang »

derelicta wrote: post #489

[flagged]

Could you please stop posting flamebait and/or ideological battle comments to HN? You've been doing it a lot, unfortunately. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for.

You're welcome to express your views thoughtfully and substantively, of course—just not to do this sort of drive-by inflammatory thing, which is tedious and evokes worse from others.

If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.

Re: South Korean president declares martial law, parliament votes to lift it

#530

Post by limit499karma »

diggan wrote: post #15
cuuupid wrote: post #4

Can someone ELI5 if this is a huge deal (like declaring martial law would be in the west), or if this is the equivalent of a "government shutdown" when similar budget impasses occur in the US?

Martial law typically involves the suspension of ordinary law and the imposition of direct military control, which for a relatively fresh democracy like South Korea doesn't sound like a nothing-burger exactly. Makes me think of the Gwangju Uprising in 80s, which happened after martial law was instated, after a military dictator was put in place. IIRC, the US was also involved with the newly installed military junta.

Any realist assessment of the power structure in SK (in general, and much more so in the military) has to acknowledge the history and presence of US military in Korea.
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