The Most Searched Term on Google in South Korea: 'Martial Law'
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Seoul, Dec 4 (NationPress) The Korean phrase for 'martial law' became the top-searched term on Google in South Korea on Wednesday, in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's momentary declaration of martial law.
This term dominated Google's trending chart, with search activity in the last 24 hours exceeding the 2 million threshold, marking an increase of over 1,000% compared to the previous day.
The queries 'currency exchange rate' and 'Kim Yong-hyun', the South Korean defense minister who allegedly suggested the martial law declaration to the president, secured the second and third positions on the trends chart, respectively, according to reports from Yonhap news agency.
Yoon announced martial law late on Tuesday evening, accusing the opposition of immobilizing the government through 'anti-state activities', but revoked it just hours later after the National Assembly voted to call for its termination.
In the aftermath of this incident, the news section of South Korea's leading internet portal, Naver, experienced unprecedented traffic overnight, as reported by its operator.
This surge temporarily hindered some of its functionalities, but services were quickly restored.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Yoon convened a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and leaders of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) to discuss measures following the opposition parties' submission of an impeachment motion in response to the brief martial law declaration.
Prime Minister Han, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, and floor leader Choo Kyung-ho gathered at the presidential office shortly after the opposition presented the motion, following the National Assembly's earlier rejection of the martial law declaration.
According to a senior presidential official, 'They seriously discussed the current situation, and there was no difference in opinions', adding that discussions about Yoon's potential departure from the party were not part of the meeting.
The main opposition Democratic Party and five other minor parties intend to report the motion to a parliamentary plenary session on Thursday and aim to put it to a vote as early as Friday.
