After a night of tension and drama, South Korea He woke up this Wednesday from a nightmare: that of the return to the dark decades of the military dictatorship. The president’s attempt Yoon Suk-yeol to annul all freedoms by imposing martial law, frustrated in a few hours by the popular mobilization and the vote against Parliament, has unleashed indignation in the country, which demands his head.
Opposition forces, led by Democratic Partyhave already united to demand his dismissal, which should be voted on within 72 hours in the National Assembly. “Parliament should focus on immediately suspending the president’s duties in order to pass an impeachment motion as soon as possible,” the deputy announced to reporters. Hwang Un-haaccording to the Reuters agency.
Despite the withdrawal of martial law, more protests and demonstrations are expected this day. The Korean Trade Union Confederationthe largest coalition of labor organizations, plans to hold a march and advocates going on strike until President Yoon resigns.
Pending what he does, his political future is doomed by his extreme and clumsy decision to declare martial law in a country as developed as South Korea, which has been one of the most vibrant and prosperous democracies in Asia since the end of the 1980s. Assuming his responsibility in this failed self-coup, he Yoon’s chief of staff and a dozen secretaries have resigned from his presidential office.
His own political force, the People Power Partyturned his back on him from the first moment and has already asked for the resignation of the entire Government and, especially, of the Minister of Defense, Kim Yong-hyunfor allowing the president to send the Army to storm Parliament. At dawn, after President Yoon’s surprising television announcement declaring martial law, about 190 of his 300 deputies showed up to oppose his decision. Some of them, like the main opposition leader, Lee Jae-myungof the Democratic Party, even had to jump over a fence to sneak into the premises, as shown in a video that he recorded himself and has spread on the internet.
Entrenching themselves in Parliament with barricades built from chairs and desks, 190 deputies voted against martial law. Among them were 18 from Yoon’s own party. Outside, the Army tried to enter the building while being rebuked by thousands of protesters, which caused dangerous moments of tension. Finally, President Yoon was forced to withdraw martial law at four-thirty in the morning, just six hours after decreeing it.
Impeachment process
“Even if martial law is lifted, it cannot avoid treason charges. It has been clearly revealed to the entire nation that President Yoon can no longer lead the country normally. “You should resign,” a Democratic Party deputy reproached him. Park Chan-daein a statement collected by the BBC. For his part, the secretary general of the National Assembly, Kim Min-kinoted that “as of today (this Wednesday), the Minister of Defense, the Police and the Army have completely prohibited entry,” declaring them “legally responsible” for the “material damage and illegal acts” for attempting to enter by force. Parliament.
To remove the president, a majority of two-thirds of its 300 deputies is needed, that is, at least 201. While the Democratic Party has 170 seats, the People’s Power Party has 108, but everything indicates that it will drop the president Yoon so he doesn’t drag him down with him. Once the dismissal is approved, it is supervised by the Constitutional Courtwhich needs the votes in favor of six of its nine judges to ratify it. This is what happened with the former president Park Geun-hyedaughter of the dictator Park Chung-heewho was dismissed by Parliament in December 2016 for her corruption and cronyism scandals, and then by the Constitutional Court in March 2017. But in 2004 another president, Roh Moo-hyungwas dismissed and suspended for two months and, later, rehabilitated by the judges.
Impact on the economy
In the event that President Yoon resigns or is removed, the prime minister, Han Duck-soowould hold power until early elections were held. But this latest, still unresolved crisis, the most serious of democracy in South Korea, is already having a strong impact on its powerful economy, the fourth largest in Asia. This Wednesday, the stock markets opened lower and the South Korean index Kospi It lost around 2 percent, while the won was trading at its lowest rate against the dollar since October 2022 (1,418 won). “We see the uncertainty surrounding the economy and politics still high and is likely to hamper growth if the situation continues,” the bank warned in a note. ING the economist Min Joo-kangaccording to the BBC. But other analysts, such as Kim Jin-wookof Citigroupconsidered that “the negative impact on the economy and financial markets could be short because political uncertainties can be mitigated if there is a rapid response.” To this end, the Minister of Finance, Choi Sang-mokheld an emergency meeting at dawn and promised stability and injecting liquidity into the markets if necessary.
Amid street demonstrations and rallies outside Parliament calling for President Yoon’s resignation or arrest, Seoul tries to regain normality. Although large companies have asked their employees to work from home, they have opened schools, banks, government offices and courts, showing that South Korea is trying to leave behind the nightmare of a night in which it was able to return to business. dictatorship.
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