The U.S. State Department conveyed its stance to the South Korean government after President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, emphasizing that democracy should be respected, and assessing that impeachment and related procedures were functioning properly in accordance with constitutional and democratic principles.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the State Department, addressed this in response to a question about the actions taken by the U.S. government after becoming aware of the martial law declaration, during a Foreign Press Center briefing on the 17th local time.
Spokesperson Miller mentioned that U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken had multiple conversations with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul after the martial law declaration, during which he made it clear that the U.S. hopes democracy is respected and the rule of law is maintained in South Korea, and that respect for democratic values supports the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
He also noted that in the past few weeks, they have witnessed the proper functioning of constitutional procedures like the impeachment process after the martial law declaration, and stated that democratic systems should operate in this manner, though he acknowledged that democratic processes are not always smooth, as seen in the U.S. January 6th Capitol riot incident.
Regarding Kim Eo-jun’s claim about a plan to assassinate Han Dong-hoon, the representative of the People Power Party, during the martial law situation, the U.S. government stated that it was unaware of any such information.
On the potential weakening of trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan due to South Korea’s political turmoil, he stated that continuing the trilateral alliance aligns with the fundamental interests of all three countries.
Reporter: Hong Sang-hee
AI Anchor: Y-GO
Caption Editor: Lee Seon
#ThisIsNews