One of the questions that is most on the minds of citizens in Seoul, South Korea, this Wednesday is: What was the president thinking?
In a late-night address that created chaos in South Korea’s parliament and tested the country’s democratic commitment, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared he would impose martial law.
Less than 24 hours later, his political future is on the brink, with protests in the streets and a political trial process against him.
So what happened?
The last time martial law was imposed in South Korea was in 1979, prompted by the assassination of the then military ruler in a coup d’état. However, today’s South Korea is a far cry from that and the years of repression that followed.
It is a stable and prosperous democracy, but Yoon claimed he was imposing military rule to save the country from dark forces. He labeled the opposition-controlled National Assembly a “den of criminals” that “tried to paralyze” the government.
Hours later, he was forced to back down when angry protesters and lawmakers gathered outside the National Assembly and MPs managed to enter the premises, where they voted to repeal the order.
His sudden declaration was, in fact, an attempt to achieve the kind of power that has eluded him since he won the presidency in 2022 by the narrowest margin in South Korean history..
And since then, barely a month has passed without controversy.
A government in trouble
In late 2022, the president was criticized for his government’s response to the horrible human stampede during halloweenwhich left 159 young people dead in Seoul.
Then there were calls to investigate his wife, after she was caught accepting Dior brand bags as gifts, a scandal that is always making headlines.
In April of this year, his party was defeated in parliamentary elections, leaving him in a weakened position. Just this week, he has been locked in a political battle with opposition lawmakers over the national budget.
Even before he announced to South Koreans that he would be suspending their rights, his approval rating was below 20%.
There are some clues in Yoon’s speech that point to what he was thinking.
What was immediately evident was that he was frustrated with parliament in opposition hands. In his speech Tuesday night, he called the assembly where they carry out their mandate a “monster that destroys the liberal democratic system.”
The reference to the threat from North Korea and “anti-state forces” suggests that he also hoped to gain support from the kind of right-wing conservatives in South Korea who brand liberal politicians as “communists.”
But the president misunderstood the country and its policies.
Memories of repression
His statement was a chilling reminder of a period that many in South Korea have tried to forget. On television, the news anchors were shaking.
In 1980, when pro-democracy activists, many of whom were students, took to the streets of the city of Gwangju to protest martial law, the military responded with violence and about 200 people were killed.
Although martial law was in effect for three years – 1979 to 1981 – there had already been a military regime for decades, which continued until 1987. And in those years suspicions abounded in South Korea, when anti-government activists were classified as communist spies and arrested or killed.
However, during his election campaign, Yoon chose authoritarian General Chun Doo-hwan and said he had handled government affairs well, except for his repression of pro-democracy activists.
He was then forced to apologize and declared that he “certainly did not defend or praise Chun’s government.”
Still, it offers some insights into the president’s understanding of power.
For months there have been rumors in South Korean political circles that Yoon was considering imposing martial law.. In September, opposition leaders and supporters declared it a possibility. Most dismissed it as too extreme an option.
Impeachment: the opposition’s weapon
But it is possible that it was motivated by something else: the fear of being prosecuted.
Park Geun-hye, the country’s first female ruler, was jailed after being found guilty of abuse of power and corruption.
His predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, was investigated for alleged stock price manipulation. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption and bribery in 2020.
Another former president, Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide in 2009 while being investigated for allegedly receiving millions in bribes.
In South Korea, judicial processes have become almost a political tool, a threat that the opposition can brandish. That may partly explain why President Yoon took such drastic action.
Whatever his reasons, Yoon’s career will have a hard time recovering from this. He also faces calls for him to resign, with some local media reporting that members of his own People’s Power Party are discussing his expulsion.
South Korea is a stable democracy, but it is one that makes noise. And he refused to accept another authoritarian decree.
Now, President Yoon will soon face the trial of a Parliament and a people after they rejected the most serious challenge to the country’s democracy since the 1980s.
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- Why South Korea’s president suddenly declared martial law and withdrew it hours later amid protests and parliamentary rejection
- The dramatic images of the stampede at a Halloween festival in Seoul that caused more than 150 deaths
- The dark side of one of the most prosperous countries in recent decades