3 Decembe 2024: How Lee Jae Myung’s Live Broadcast Stopped Martial Law."We will risk our lives to defend this nation’s democracy." 이재명 라이브 방송은 어떻게 비상계엄을 막아냈는가. "민주주의를 지키기 위해 목숨을 걸 것입니다."
“President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a state of emergency—martial law. Please come to the National Assembly.”
For 3 December, the first anniversary of the revolution of light, I’ve been trying to write something meaningful, analytical, and memorable. I’ve tried between classes, during breaks, and while students are working independently—but nothing worth publishing has come out, except my usual tirade, like a broken record, about Washington’s role.
Then, yesterday, while driving to work on a chilly, gray morning through dense fog, feeling the cold and seeing no light, I suddenly felt a flutter in my stomach—a strange physical reaction. I don’t have any personal life stress that would cause this feeling. Then I realized I was thinking about the moment I learned about the declaration of martial law a year ago. More specifically, I was thinking about the material I was reviewing the night before for my writing and a small detail from the story: a wife driving her husband, crying, on the fateful night of December 3, while he livestreamed an urgent message on YouTube.
Please come. President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a state of emergency—martial law.
The National Assembly must vote to lift this emergency martial law,
but there is a very high possibility that the military will be mobilized
to arrest members of the National Assembly.
Please come to the National Assembly.
It is late at night,
but the people must protect this country.
We will risk our lives
to defend this nation’s democracy.
Our strength alone is not enough.
The true owners of this country—
you, the citizens—
must step forward.
I am now on my way
to the National Assembly as well.
Please lend your strength
so that the National Assembly can vote to lift the martial law,
so that we can firmly protect
the democracy of this country.
Citizens,
please come to the National Assembly
right now.
You must protect the National Assembly.
It is the final bulwark
of our democracy.
Respected and beloved citizens,
President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared emergency martial law.
There is absolutely no justification
for declaring such martial law.
We cannot allow the military
to rule this nation.
As if the violent control by the prosecution were not enough,
now armed soldiers
with guns and knives
are trying to seize control of the country.
And to the soldiers of the Republic of Korea—
the only entity that can command you
is the people.
President Yoon Suk-yeol has betrayed the people.
His illegal declaration of martial law
is null and void.
From this moment on,
Yoon Suk-yeol
is no longer
the President of the Republic of Korea.
Soldiers,
the guns and knives you hold,
your power—
all of it comes from the people.
The owners of this country
are the people, and those you must obey
are not President Yoon Suk-yeol,
but the people themselves.
The people did not approve
President Yoon’s martial law.
The fate of the country’s future is at stake.
What you must obey
is not President Yoon’s orders,
but the orders of the people.
Citizens,
please come quickly
to the National Assembly.
This is an illegal, unconstitutional, and anti-public declaration of martial law by President Yoon.
People of this nation, please come to the National Assembly now.
Although it is late at night, you must protect this country.
We, too, will risk our lives to defend democracy. Our strength alone is not enough. The people—who are the true owners of this country—must take action.
Protect the National Assembly,
the final bastion of our democracy.
I am also on my way
to the National Assembly.
This is an urgent,
desperate moment.
The fate of the nation
is flickering like a lamp in the wind.
President Yoon Suk-yeol’s
illegal, unconstitutional,
anti-people declaration of martial law—
it must be stopped
by the true sovereigns of this nation:
the people of the Republic of Korea.
In just two and a half short years,
this country has been
so deeply damaged.
Respected citizens,
President Yoon
declared martial law
without any justification.
Soon,
soldiers with tanks
and armored vehicles
will move to take over this country.
All judicial processes
will be halted,
and soldiers will hand down rulings
in summary trials.
The Republic of Korea’s economy
will collapse beyond recovery.
International credit ratings will fall.
Foreign investors
will pull out.
The Korean economy will be devastated,
and the livelihoods of the people—already suffering—
will plunge endlessly.
Citizens,
please come
to the National Assembly.
Democracy is collapsing;
you must rise together
to protect it.
Come to the National Assembly
in Yeouido.
I am heading
to the National Assembly as well.
Respected citizens,
think of how the Republic of Korea
was built—
how our democracy
was built—
how we became
the world’s 12th-largest advanced economy.
Please join your strength with ours.
I still cannot believe
that in the 21st century,
in our advanced nation,
the Republic of Korea,
a state of emergency—martial law—
could be declared.
Citizens,
can you even imagine this?
This is real.
We must protect our country.
Citizens,
please come
to the National Assembly.
Although it is late at night, you must protect this country. We, too, will risk our lives to defend democracy. Our strength alone is not enough. The people—who are the true owners of this country—must take action.
I am also going
to the National Assembly.
Respected citizens,
this is the Republic of Korea we built together.
This is the democracy
we built together.
This is the nation
we raised into the world’s 12th-largest advanced economy.
Please join your strength with ours.
I still cannot believe it.
In the 21st century,
in our advanced nation,
the Republic of Korea,
martial law has been declared.
Citizens,
can you imagine this?
This is the reality.
We must protect our country.
Citizens,
please come
to the National Assembly.
Timeline of Lee Jae Myung (LJM), Chair of the Democratic Party, on the Night of Martial Law, While in a Car Driven by His Wife
3 December 2024
10:10 p.m. — LJM At home
10:28 p.m. — Yoon declares martial law
10:29 p.m. — DP lawmaker Ho-hoon Chun posts in the DP lawmakers’ exclusive KakaoTalk chat: “Everyone must come to the National Assembly.”
10:32 p.m. — DP lawmaker Chung-rae Jeong briefs Lee Jae-myung
10:37 p.m. — LJM orders DP lawmaker Chan-dae Park: “All members of the National Assembly to the National Assembly!”
10:39 p.m. — LJM posts a brief three-character message in the DP lawmakers’ exclusive chat
10:40 p.m. — LJM leaves his home in Incheon for Yeouido, Seoul (his wife driving, crying, while he prepares for YouTube livestreaming)
10:41–10:47 p.m. — Journalist Kim U-joon requests a live broadcast through writer Lee Dong-young
10:48 p.m. — Lee Jae Myung TV Live begins broadcasting
He turns on a YouTube livestream from inside his car and appeals to the public:
“Please lend your strength so that we can firmly defend this nation’s democracy. Please come to the National Assembly.”
10:55 p.m. — LJM arrives at the third gate of the National Assembly
11:06 p.m. — LJM climbs over the National Assembly fence
11:58 p.m. — LJM enters the main hall of the National Assembly
4 December 2024
12:20–12:40 a.m. — President Yoon Suk-yeol orders Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, Commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, by phone: “Bring out the people inside the National Assembly building.” Martial law generals block access to the National Assembly and order subordinates to drag out lawmakers.
1:02 a.m. — The National Assembly passes a resolution calling for the lifting of emergency martial law.
“We will risk our lives to defend this nation’s democracy.” Lee Jae Myung
“민주주의를 지키기 위해 목숨을 걸 것입니다.”