South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol
South Korea has entered a new round of internal political instability. The country’s president has been fighting to keep his position with all possible means, while the opposition searches for a way to remove him from power.
On December 3, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, citing a threat posed by “pro-North Korean forces,” and accusing the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, of paralyzing the government with “anti-state activities.”
Within hours, 190 lawmakers who were able to access the National Assembly building voted unanimously to lift the decree. The military responded that martial law would remain in place “until the president says otherwise.”
Shortly after 4am local time, however, the president announced that the state of emergency would be lifted. This failed attempt to impose martial law to suppress the opposition undermined the already shaky position of the President on the South Korean political scene.
On December 4, South Korean Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun announced that he is taking responsibility for the recent declaration of martial law in the country, and will be tendering his resignation.
“I take responsibility for all matters related to martial law and have tendered my resignation to the president,” Kim said.
“Martial law has been lifted and the people are returning to their daily lives, but the domestic political and security situations are not easy.”
Media reports claim that Kim may have been the one who advised the President declare martial law.
The Democratic Party leader, Lee Jae-myung, denounced the president’s enactment of martial law as “unconstitutional”.
On December 4, South Korean opposition parties also submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon over the incident. The move would require the support of two-thirds of parliament and at least six justices of the country’s nine-member Constitutional Court.
President Yoon’s approval ratings have been dipping in recent months, with the parliamentary opposition having repeatedly derailed his agenda since he came to power back in 2022. The confrontation increased last week as the Democratic Party shot down Yoon’s 2025 budget bill. The president has also been resisting calls for a probe into several scandals, involving his wife and senior officials.
The recent events once again highlighted the crisis, which has been developing under the cover of MSM reports about the ‘progressive and successful’ member of the US-led bloc. In the case of the failure of the South Korean leadership to settle the situation and start working to at least partly overcome the increasing political, economic and social challenges, South Korea may turn into a new point of instability in the region.
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