Martial Law and the Court-Martial : Focusing on the Yosun Incident

Martial law was declared on October 22, 1948, shortly after the yosun Incident broke out. This was the first time martial law was declared since the establishment of the Korean government. Locally, the military first declared martial law, and the government approved it. Martial law was declared and the military completely controlled civil society. The military seized administrative and judicial control. Martial law immediately after the yosun Incident was the epitome of such a case. The military completely controlled the civilian society and at the same time disposed of the so-called ‘collaborator’ immediately, and this was not the end. After that, the general court-martial was held to punish civilians. The general court-martial held under martial law was established without law, and there was no data left to examine the process of military trials. During the trial, even the basic rights of the people and human rights of the constitution were not observed. No process of the general court-martial was ‘legal’, such as performance without a warrant by judges, arrest and prosecution, confession made from beatings and torture, sentence and single-trial system, and execution of sentences. The suspects were deprived of even the least rights. It was a sham trial that violated the constitution and criminal courtism. From the beginning, the government and military did not consider the human rights of the people or the basic rights and evidence guaranteed in the constitution. The life and death of the residents were determined by the order of the martial law commander. The martial law district’s high military court meeting was a representative state violence in which judicial power was suspended, the military controlled civil society, and the state wielded public power recklessly to determine the life and death of the people.