bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Maria Siow

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived bid to plunge the country under martial law “threatened the very foundations” of democracy in his country, with previous presidents convicted or impeached on perceivably milder grounds, according to observers.
They also add that several legal and procedural questions still surround Yoon’s surprise decision on Tuesday night.
South Korea’s Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun offered to resign on Wednesday over the president’s failed martial law.
South Korean opposition parties later submitted a bill in parliament to impeach Yoon, who had already faced accusations of heavy-handed leadership from his opponents and from within his own party, with voting set for Friday or Saturday. Yoon’s decree lasted only six hours before he backtracked following the vote.
A plenary session to formally introduce the bill was scheduled to begin shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
If Yoon resigned or was removed from office, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would fill in as leader until a new election was held within 60 days.


Lee Seong-hyon, an associate at the Harvard University Asia Centre whose research focuses on the Koreas, said that compared with his predecessors, Yoon’s actions stood out as “extremely severe, threatening the very foundations of South Korea’s democratic system”.
From December 2016 to March 2017, former president Park Geun-hye was convicted and sentenced to more than two decades in prison for abuse of power, coercion and bribery.
The court ruled she had colluded with her close friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure conglomerates such as electronics giant Samsung and retail chain Lotte to give millions of dollars to foundations run by Choi.
Park was also convicted of forcing companies to sign lucrative deals with firms owned by Choi, and found guilty of leaking confidential presidential documents to Choi.
In March 2004, Roh Moo-hyun was impeached for illegal electioneering amid charges that he had failed to maintain political neutrality as required of a high public official, but the motion was rejected by the Constitutional Court.
Park’s actions were serious but they did not directly undermine the democratic system, Lee said. Roh’s offence was less severe than the actions involving Park or Yoon, he added.

Yoon’s declaration of martial law without proper justification, seeking to “suspend civil liberties and democratic processes directly challenges the core of South Korea’s democratic institutions”, according to Lee.
“This could be seen as more severe than the offences of his predecessors,” Lee said, adding that given the gravity of Yoon’s actions, there was a strong argument for impeachment proceedings against him.
“His attempt to impose military rule, even if brief, represents a significant breach of constitutional authority and public trust,” Lee said. The final decision on impeachment would depend on the Constitutional Court’s interpretation and a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to approve such a move, which the opposition was “close to achieving”, he added.
Citing Article 77 of South Korea’s Constitution, Lee said that Yoon’s overreach of power was “a significant concern” as the clause made it clear that a president could declare martial law only in the event of war, armed conflict or a national emergency.
Lee noted that the day before Yoon declared martial law, he met with small and medium-sized business owners and pledged that he would revive the economy.
“One day later, he declared martial law. It makes one wonder where his judgment came from,” Lee said.


Steps questioned
Alexander M. Hynd, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of New South Wales in Sydney who specialises in international relations and politics of Asia-Pacific, said there were several legal and procedural questions over Yoon’s position.
There is the question of whether Yoon has held a cabinet meeting before announcing martial law – which he should – and whether there was any illegality on Yoon’s part arising from the period between the National Assembly vote to reject his martial law move and his public acceptance of its vote.
“These questions might seem like minor details but they could have a major bearing on the perceived legality of Yoon’s actions over the last 24 hours, and thus his political future,” Hynd said.




“Perhaps the best moral defence that Yoon could seek to deploy is that martial law was a clumsy but well-intentioned attempt to break through the country’s partisan domestic political deadlock,” Hynd said. But such an argument would not sit well with most South Koreans, he added.
“Even for many of Yoon’s supporters, declaring martial law will be seen as an obvious red line not to be crossed,” he added, pointing out that Yoon’s move was “a huge roll of the dice in which he massively overplayed”.
The conservative leader has passed the midpoint of his single, five-year term with approval ratings hovering around 25 per cent, according to a recent opinion poll, among the lowest ever for a South Korean president.
His administration has been plagued by scandals and mounting criticisms ranging from allegations of wrongdoings involving first lady Kim Keon Hee and a strained relationship with the chief of the ruling People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon.
Hynd said that ultimately, South Koreans and their elected representatives in the National Assembly would decide if impeachment should move ahead against Yoon.
“But he is looking increasingly politically isolated, with even many conservatives in firm opposition to his actions,” Hynd said.


Describing Yoon’s martial law call as “definitely shortsighted”, Andrew Yeo, professor of politics at the Catholic University of America said Yoon’s action would “not necessarily be an impeachable offence”.
“But the action was an abuse of power that could have ended up with much worse outcomes had not the National Assembly rejected martial law, pressuring Yoon to reverse course,” Yeo said.
Noting that Yoon had dug himself into “a deep political hole that will be hard to climb back out of”, Yeo said that before Tuesday’s events, it was mainly the Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and his party members calling for Yoon’s resignation or impeachment.
“Now large swaths of the country, including members of his own party, are asking him to step aside,” Yeo said.
Nonetheless, the opposition was “not blameless either” given the “polarisation and the desire to knock out one’s political opponent falls on both parties”, Yeo said. What was needed in South Korean democracy now was “greater forbearance and political tolerance”, he added.

Ramon Pacheco Pardo, an international relations professor at King’s College London, said Yoon would focus on trying to survive the next two or three days as the motion to impeach him could only pass if at least eight conservative lawmakers side with the liberal majority in the National Assembly.
“He will focus his efforts on preventing this from happening,” Pardo said, adding that most South Koreans – though initially shocked and in disbelief – likely felt proud that Yoon had been forced to reverse his decision within hours following a peaceful democratic process.
“It will be difficult for most South Koreans to believe that their country is under threat from internal North Korean forces or any other fundamental threat to their democracy,” Pardo said.
Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at Tokyo’s International Christian University, said it was unlikely that Yoon could justify his martial law move that would “placate either side”.
“The problem is that the Progressives have made governing South Korea almost impossible,” Nagy said. “Yoon was trying to find a way through this impasse and failed. I see him losing power soon”.
Additional reporting by Reuters


China should seize the moment to promote peace on Korean peninsula

After Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment, 2 films that could draw South Koreans back to cinemas

North Korean state media relishes ‘foolish’ Yoon’s downfall

What impact will K-pop have on humanity and music? Oxford University professor’s research

South Korea

Why Yoon’s martial law bid poses ‘severe’ threat to South Korea’s democracy

Protesters hold placards calling for the resignation of South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Opposition lawmakers submit a bill to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Seoul citizens walk beside a tank on October 27, 1979, after martial law was declared following the death of President Park Chung-hee. Photo: AP

In South Korea, Yoon’s ‘reckless’ martial law bid evokes its dark history

Members of main opposition Democratic Party attend a rally against South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Workers remove a furniture used for barricading against military forces at the National Assembly after South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol declared martial law. Photo: Reuters

A cutout of the late military dictator Park Chung-hee and his wife Yuk Young-soo at Park’s birthplace in Gumi, South Korea. Photo: AP

South Korea’s Yoon faces impeachment after martial law blunder: ‘political suicide’

Protesters clash with police officers during a demonstration in Seoul on Wednesday calling for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation and impeachment. Photo: EPA-EFE

Protesters stage a rally in Seoul on Wednesday morning calling for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to step down. The signs read “Punish”. Photo: AP

Members of South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party set up barricades at an entrance of the National Assembly building in Seoul early on Wednesday. Photo: Yonhap/AFP

Protesters call for the resignation and impeachment of Yoon outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

South Korea lifts president’s martial law decree after lawmakers vote against it

A person gestures in the outside the National Assembly, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Reuters

Police officers block protesters outside the National Assembly on Wednesday after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law. Photo: Yonhap via Reuters

People watch South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Soldiers try to enter the main hall of the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday. Yonhap via AFP

A man raises his fist as a crowd gathers outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

A helicopter hovers over the National Assembly following South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law. Photo: Yonhap via dpa

Soldiers withdraw from the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Lawmakers gather at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law. Photo: Reuters

How South Korea’s president Yoon could be impeached

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol boards the presidential plane at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam last month. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE

Lee Jae-myung (centre), head of the main opposition Democratic Party, talks to reporters after an emergency plenary session of the National Assembly voted to withdraw martial law early on Wednesday. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE

Former President Park Geun-hye pictured in 2016. She was South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be ousted from office. Photo: Yonhap via AP

This Week in Asia

Politics

News

Asia

East Asia

Seoul’s lawmakers are calling for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation or impeachment after his failed attempt to impose martial law


Seoul’s lawmakers are calling for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation or impeachment after his failed attempt to impose martial law.


Yoon Suk-yeol

Korean peninsula

History

South Korea martial law 2024