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South Korea is in the grip of a political crisis after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday – a shock move that sparked mass protests and drew a sharp rebuke from the country’s parliament.
Although Yoon said he would retract his statement, it is unlikely to end South Korea’s political problems beyond Tuesday’s state of emergency.
Yoon first made the statement during a televised announcement on Tuesday evening local time, claiming that his government’s opposition party was in the midst of an “insurgency” and was “trying to overthrow free democracy”, possibly in reference to the political deadlock between himself and parliament that prevented him from enact his agenda. Despite this ongoing stalemate, the move to declare martial law caught Yoon’s political opponents, allies, the South Korean public and the world by surprise.
Shortly after Yoon’s announcement, South Korea’s parliament, known as the National Assembly, met to unanimously vote a martial law decree.
“There is no reason to declare martial law. We cannot allow the military to rule this country,” opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said on Tuesday. “President Yoon Suk Yeol betrayed the people. President Yoon’s illegal declaration of a state of emergency is invalid.” Martial law typically involves the suspension of civilian rule and rule by military decree in the event of a major emergency such as an intense armed conflict.
Despite Yoon’s promise to rescind his statement, the country is still in limbo. What will happen next is not clear.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why did the president declare martial law?
Yoon spoke only in broad strokes about his decision. However, it is possible that his statement was influenced by his waning public support, the political gridlock and the ongoing ethics investigation of his wife over a purse that was allegedly an inappropriate gift.
The conservative Yoon is in the second year of his five-year term; during his tenure, his approval ratings fell below 20 percentage points. He has also reached an impasse with the National Assembly, which is controlled by the center-left Democratic Party, over his political agenda.
Yoon “is certainly unpopular and frustrated by his inability to make policy,” Celeste Arrington, director of the George Washington Institute for Korean Studies, told Vox.
Yoon “used an unprecedented number of presidential vetoes” to try to push his agenda, Arrington said. “He also launched a politically motivated prosecution of an opposition party. Meanwhile, the opposition party tried to impeach dozens of members of this government and launched an investigation into the first lady. So this (political battle) has been back and forth and back and forth, building.”
Yoon has specifically claimed that North Korean elements played a role in his decision to declare martial law, although there is no real evidence that North Korea played a role in the current crisis. Instead, his reference to North Korea may refer to the great political divide between the country’s two main parties over whether and how to deal with its totalitarian and aggressive northern neighbor.
What does martial law mean in South Korea?
Furthermore, political activities, including meetings of political parties and assemblies, are to cease. This was apparently ignored: the National Assembly convened and protests continued throughout the night.
Armed guards surrounded the National Assembly building on Tuesday evening; 190 members of the 300-member body showed up to vote unanimously for the measure, with some shrinking the fence around the building to do so, the Wall Street Journal reported.
What was the reaction?
Yoon’s statement was almost universally unpopular in South Korea. Citizens showed up to protest – even engaging in clashes with security forces.
Both the opposition leader and the leader of Yoon’s own party condemned Yoon’s decision. “It is an illegal, unconstitutional declaration of martial law that does not meet the requirements,” said Han Dong-hoon, a former justice minister and leader of Yoon’s People Power Party. “South Korea is a democratic country. We will protect democracy together with our citizens.”
The US, a longtime ally of South Korea, said it was unaware of Yoon’s statement before it came.
“We have every hope and expectation that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law,” US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Tuesday.
Yoon said he would lift the martial law declaration in accordance with the National Assembly’s vote, as required by the constitution. The cabinet agreed to lift the order early Wednesday morning local time and the protesters began to disperse.
But the crisis doesn’t end there, Gi-Wook Shin, director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, told Vox.
“The decision (to declare martial law) appears to be an attempt to assert authority in a climate where his popularity is declining, but it is fundamentally political suicide because it risks being seen as an overreach of power and could lead to him facing impeachment. Shin said.
Indeed, an opposition lawmaker from a smaller party has already called for Yoon’s impeachment.
Regardless of what happens to Yoon, polarization between the two major parties and high levels of public dissatisfaction with politics remain, Arrington told Vox.
“Neither party is particularly popular; public trust in both conservatives and progressives is low,” she said. “There is a deep frustration with the way democratic institutions work, especially political parties and the National Assembly.” And the end of the martial law crisis will do nothing to change this reality.
