Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, proclaims martial law in an emergency speech.

In a live, emergency national address on Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol proclaimed martial law, according to Reuters.

In a live, emergency national address on Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol proclaimed martial law, according to Reuters.

Yeol declared that he would destroy "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces" in his surprise late-night speech on YTN broadcast.

Yeol centered on his rivals in the Southern political circuit, but he made no reference of any particular threat posed by nuclear-armed North Korea.

The entire nation, having had a string of autocratic rulers in its early history, was taken aback by the action. According to reports, South Korea has had democratic presidents since the 1980s.

Notably, this move caused the value of the Korean won to plummet in relation to the US dollar.

The president of South Korea stated that he was forced to take this action to safeguard the free and constitutional order, and he added that opposition parties had taken over the legislative process with the goal of causing a crisis in the nation.

"I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order," Yoon stated.