Military plan stirs chilling memories for South Koreans

SEOUL, South Korea— Army generals rolling tanks and troops into Seoul to seize power. Paratroopers firing at large crowds calling for democracy. Tanks and armored vehicles stationed at universities to intimidate student protesters.

Such scenes of military intervention in South Korea have been nonexistent since the country achieved democracy in the late 1980s. But revelations this past week of a document showing the military drafted plans to mobilize troops to suppress protests last year have struck a nerve among people in one of Asia’s most vibrant and wealthiest democracies. Some allege the plans even included a scenario for a coup.

The memories of brutal, military-backed dictatorships that imprisoned, tortured and executed dissidents remain vivid to many South Koreans. But most experts say the chances for another coup are extremely low.

A controversy over the military plans arose last week when a ruling party lawmaker disclosed a document drafted by a military intelligence unit. It showed plans to deploy troops if protests grew violent following a court ruling in March 2017 that would determine the fate of conservative then-president Park Geun-hye. Lawmakers had impeached Park over broad corruption allegations in December 2016.

Lim Tae-hoon, an activist who analyzed the document, said the plans clearly targeted a potentially much larger group of anti-park demonstrators, who poured onto the streets by the millions to peacefully call for Park’s ouster.

Pointing out that the document included plans for martial law, Lim raised suspicions that a closed group of army leaders plotted a coup to increase Park’s powers if she survived the attempt to oust her.

“There was no reason at all for the army to prepare plans to deploy troops and even consider martial law,” Lim said.