On December 16, South Korea’s Constitutional Court began reviewing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Earlier, on December 14, the country’s Parliament voted to impeach President Yoon over his decision to enforce martial law on December 3 in a democratically-run country.
Moments after Yoon enforced the martial law decree, which lasted for just six hours, there was political turmoil across South Korea. Thousands of civilians poured into the streets of the capital, Seoul, calling for the President’s dismissal and arrest. Reports indicate that the protesters shouted slogans, sang, danced, and waved K-pop light sticks.
Yoon’s shocking martial law announcement and the ensuing political crisis have created fear for the country’s economy. The world has been taken aback and is concerned about South Korea’s ability to deter nuclear-armed North Korea, which is always up to some mischief.
A Long Process
Yoon was compelled to lift his martial law order after Parliament collectively demanded that he reverse it, as the declaration had disrupted diplomatic activities and upset financial markets.
After imposing martial law, Yoon sent troops and police forces to Parliament in an attempt to obstruct its vote on the decree, before withdrawing them as Parliament rejected it.
The impeachment motion was passed in the National Assembly with a 204-85 vote, including 12 members of the ruling party alongside the opposition, after Yoon refused to resign. Yoon is now officially suspended and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has assumed the role of acting president.
In the interim, Yoon has been banned from travelling outside the country and has been charged with multiple inquiries, including potential charges of leading an insurrection – a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
The Constitutional Court will now decide Yoon’s future, with up to six months (180 days) to rule on the impeachment. The court will hold the first public hearing on December 27.
If the Constitutional Court rules in favour of impeachment, Yoon will be removed from office, and a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days.
“There are only six judges in the Constitutional Court, which has a full capacity of nine. So, these six members must unanimously approve or endorse the impeachment motion passed by the National Assembly. Even if one Constitutional Court judge says no, President Yoon continues,” says Skand Ranjan Tayal, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Korea from 2008 to 2011.
This is the third time South Korea’s MPs have voted to impeach the president. The first impeachment occurred in March 2004, when Roh Moo-hyun, a human rights lawyer-turned-politician, was impeached. However, his impeachment was ultimately reversed by the Constitutional Court and Roh was reinstated as President two months later.
The second impeachment took place in December 2016, when Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s first female president, was impeached over a corruption scandal. She was removed from office three months later as the Constitutional Court upheld Parliament’s decision.
However, this is the first time a South Korean president has declared martial law since the military dictatorship ended in the country in the late 1980s. “The imposition of martial law has been a setback to South Korea’s democratic image. It has also affected Seoul’s standing internationally as a stable democratic power known for its transparent political system,” says Jagannath Panda, head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs.
What Next?
The world remains perplexed as to what compelled Yoon to impose martial law. A conservative, Yoon won the 2022 presidential election by a thin margin and needed the support of the National Assembly, where the opposition Democratic Party holds the majority.
“In the National Assembly elections earlier this year, Yoon’s party was roundly defeated. So, there was a kind of paralysis in administration and governance. The President’s large budget was not being passed, and his appointments were not being approved by the National Assembly,” says Amb. Tayal. “In a fit of frustration, one could say, or anger, he imposed this martial law without consulting or fully taking his cabinet or his party into confidence,” he adds.
According to local surveys, a majority of South Koreans supported Yoon’s impeachment for his declaration of martial law. The conservative president has a support base primarily among the elderly population, some of whom have staged counter-protests in the past week.
Political uncertainties have also led to concerns about the unstable economy and markets. South Korea’s hard-won global reputation as a soft power and mature democracy could face sustained damage. “As an industrial economy, political stability is key to South Korea as it continues to face stronger economic competition from other economies in the region, such as China and Japan,” says Mr Panda.
The world was dismayed by the unfortunate turn of events in South Korea, uncertain about Yoon’s future after he refused to resign. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan said he had not yet decided whether to postpone a planned visit to South Korea in January to meet President Yoon. Japan has been supportive of closer security ties with South Korea to counterbalance the challenges posed by China and North Korea.
The US, one of South Korea’s closest allies, postponed high-level meetings between military officials to discuss nuclear deterrence issues. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden also postponed his planned visit.
North Korea, the nuclear-armed neighbour that has officially been at war with South Korea, remained silent for six days after the martial law declaration. North Korea’s state media highlighted the “failings and dictatorial tendencies among South Korean leaders” and also the people’s opposition to them. So, can North Korea take advantage of the crisis now?
“In a way, political instability and chaos in South Korea would empower Kim Jong Un and his style of functioning in North Korea. This is also an opportune time for Kim Jong Un to execute sharp diplomacy and strike a direct conversation with President-elect Donald Trump of the US on the Korean Peninsula, taking advantage of the situation when South Korea is not politically united and stable,” says Panda.
However, unlike the North, mass opposition to Yoon’s martial law decree has demonstrated the democratic resilience of South Korea’s institutions and political culture.
(The author is Consulting Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
