I thought: “I can't remain silent,” recalls the spokeswoman of the South Korean Democratic Party in an interview with the BBC, who grabbed a soldier's gun in an attempt to prevent him from entering parliament. The woman arrived at the scene shortly after the president announced martial law on Tuesday.
The video from the protest in front of the parliament in Seoul, which circulated on social media, shows one of the protesters getting into a fight with a soldier and grabbing the barrel of a gun, shouting: “Aren't you ashamed?” The BBC reported on Wednesday that the woman in the recording was Ahn Gwi-ryeong, a 35-year-old spokeswoman for the opposition Democratic Party. When asked about her presence in front of parliament, she said: – I didn't think twice, I just knew we had to stop it. She admitted that when she heard about the president's decision to introduce martial law, she was “panicked”, and when she reached the parliament building, there were already scuffles between the army and the gathered people.
The party spokeswoman blocked the entrance to parliament
– When I saw armed soldiers, I felt like I was witnessing a return to the past – she noted. Ahn Gwi-ryeong and her friends tried to stop soldiers from entering parliament, where a vote was to be held on a resolution calling on the president to abolition of martial law. The group blocked the revolving doors from the inside and placed furniture and other heavy objects in front of them, reports the BBC.
Ahn Gwi-ryeong in front of the parliament building CNN News Source
– Honestly, at first I was terrified – said the spokeswoman of the Democratic Party. – But seeing such a confrontation, I thought: “I cannot remain silent,” she added.
Ahn Gwi-ryeong appeared in front of the parliament after 11 p.m. Less than two hours later, deputies voted for a resolution, after which “the decision to declare martial law is invalid,” the office of the Speaker of the National Assembly reported.
Martial law in South Korea
President Jun Suk Jeol around At 10:20 p.m. local time (2:20 p.m. in Poland) on Tuesday, he unexpectedly gave a speech and announced the introduction of martial law throughout the country. Citizens, most of whom were getting ready for bed, suddenly learned about the ban on political activity, the establishment of military power and the takeover of control over the media.
At 4:26 a.m. on Wednesday, the president of South Korea announced that he would lift martial law following the parliament's decision, which the government then agreed to. Yonhap news agency reported that the South Korean army had disbanded the martial law command staff appointed by the president.
Main photo source: CNN News Source