Andrew Bolt: Lesson from South Korea reveals we must save our socials
After South Korea’s embattled president suddenly declared martial law, the country’s democracy was saved by social media — so why are many of our own politicians so hostile to it?
Andrew Bolt
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I hope every Australian politician who’s fought to censor social media has watched it now save South Korea’s democracy.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s embattled president Yoon Suk-yeol suddenly declared martial law from 11pm, late enough to expect his opponents would struggle to organise themselves.
To make sure of it, he sent the army to shut the National Assembly and put the mainstream media under military censorship.
That’s worked in past coups, but it’s not how things work in the age of X.
News of the coup flashed through social media, as did calls to resist.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-Myung even live-streamed himself dodging the army cordon and hopping over a fence to get inside the National Assembly.
Social media then showed former TV news anchor Ann Gwi-ryeong, now a politician, trying to wrestle a gun from a soldier as she shouted: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” The clip soon had three million views.
Crowds rushed in to outnumber the soldiers at the National Assembly, and within three hours 190 of the country’s 300 politicians had got inside and voted unanimously to demand the president end his martial law.
Opposition leader Lee then called on the army to obey the people. Photos show a crowd recording him on dozens of smart phones, proving that soldiers who control TV stations now control nothing.
In less than six hours, Yoon called off his martial law. He faces impeachment, even jail. South Korea’s democracy is safe.
Just why all this happened is less important for us. Briefly, a deeply unpopular president thought an opposition he says is too close of North Korea was blocking him at every turn, having most National Assembly seats.
More important for us is to learn from how social media saved South Korea’s democracy. No wonder China tightly controls it’s own social media, but why are many of our own politicians so hostile to it?
Albanese government authoritarians have tried to give government-appointed censors power to censor what they claim is “disinformation” that supposedly “undermines the integrity of an Australian democratic process”.
Even Liberal politicians joined Labor last week to ban children from social media.
Imagine South Korea’s president with laws like that.
I know, we don’t face martial law here. Still, Victoria’s thuggish government recently ordered people to stay in their homes and fired rubber bullets at some who refused, even arresting people posting resistance online.
Yes, we have lessons to learn here.
Originally published as Andrew Bolt: Lesson from South Korea reveals we must save our socials
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