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The social mobilization showed the change in the mentality of citizens, accustomed for much of the 20th century to living among dictators and military coups.
Just a year ago, the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeoladdressed the British Parliament with a speech in which he praised the country as the cradle of liberal democracy and stated that Korea would join efforts to promote freedom, peace and prosperity within the international community.
This week, Yoon made an apparent 180-degree turn in his admiration for democracy, plunging the country into turmoil by calling for emergency martial law. In a televised address to the nation, he stated that it was necessary to protect the country from “shameless, pro-North Korean and anti-state” forces. He also said it was time to “rebuild and protect” South Korea from “falling into ruin.”
Yoon will have a lot to answer for in the coming days and weeks. The progressive opposition has already started the impeachment procedure. It is unlikely that his political career will survive the consequences of this serious mistake.
Within a few hours, both the legislators who gathered in the National Assembly and the citizens who took to the streets quickly and decisively reversed Yoon’s decision and forced him to back down. It was a strong demonstration of South Korean democracy in action. And it was a reminder that this is a very different Korea from the one that emerged from the clutches of persistent military dictatorships and the frequent imposition of martial law in the late 1980s.
Members of the National Assembly, some of whom had to climb fences and break through military barricades to enter the premises, voted unanimously against Yoon’s abrupt decree and declared it illegal. Members of Yoon’s own party, the People Power Party, said he had gone too far. After the vote, lawmakers stood outside the National Assembly building and calmly but firmly described the call for martial law as unconstitutional.
It is no secret that Yoon has faced increasing obstacles since becoming president, due to the overwhelming gains made by the opposition Democratic Party in the parliamentary elections in April this year. Having won the Presidency in 2022 by a minuscule margin, Yoon’s approval rating has been weakened by persistent scandals.
During his first year in office, public opinion polls indicated that six in ten South Koreans felt democracy was in decline. By 2024, Yoon had pushed unpopular policies on issues such as maximum work hours and foreign policy toward Japan. This resulted in only 32.7% of South Koreans declaring they were satisfied with the quality of their democracy.
Since losing control of the National Assembly, Yoon has drawn public ire by making discretionary use of the presidential veto to block bills passed by the opposition. Since the country’s democratization process began, Yoon has been the president who has used this tool the most. He vetoed independent investigations into his wife’s alleged involvement in accepting luxury gifts, but also into stock manipulation. In addition, he has attempted to interfere in the nomination of electoral candidates.
The turning point was this week’s efforts by the opposition majority to cut their government’s budget, something outside the reach of a presidential veto. Frustrated by not getting his way on the budget, Yoon resorted to a classic resource of some sectors of the Korean right: he accused the progressive opposition of colluding with North Korea to undermine its leadership.
These are dangerous claims, with no basis in current South Korean politics. In 1980, similar claims about North Korea’s involvement in the South’s internal affairs led the military to massacre citizens in the southwestern city of Gwangju. The protesters were calling for an end to martial law imposed by then-president Chun Doo-hwan.
Faith in democracy
Although dictatorship is firmly in South Korea’s past, fears of possible democratic backsliding often surface among the South Korean population. In 2017, millions of protesters took to the streets to overthrow then-president Park Geun-hye following accusations of corruption and restrictions on freedom of expression. The politically motivated inclusion of thousands of artists and performers on their government’s blacklist for public funding had been particularly unpopular.
Despite these types of episodes, 80% of South Koreans today say they are proud of the contribution of democratic movements to the progress of society. It is an indication of South Korea’s faith in the power of the people to hold their leaders accountable for their actions. Although Yoon’s own party president immediately condemned his measures, members of his inner circle must have known what was going to happen. Therefore, speculation is rife that those who surrounded Yoon and approved the decision are woefully out of touch with the sentiments of the citizenry, in light of the immediate mass reaction.
By calling for martial law in a 21st-century Korea very different from that of the past, Yoon has likely hastened his own political ruin. By resorting to such an extreme measure, he has endangered the economic and political stability of South Korea and the region. Had it persisted and succeeded, the state of martial law would have wreaked havoc on the hard-won advances that have made Korea an attractive and privileged space for foreign investment, high-tech development, tourism and popular culture. .
Yoon will have a lot to answer for in the coming days and weeks. The progressive opposition has already started the impeachment procedure. It is unlikely that his political career will survive the consequences of this serious mistake.
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