I’m sure you’re aware that SOMETHING went down in South Korea on December 3rd, 2024. Most people I’ve talked to really weren’t quite sure what exactly it was they were seeing, but everyone seemed to understand it was associated with two words: martial law.
But what does martial law mean? What actually happened on December 3rd?
To understand this we have to get an idea of the political climate of South Korea up to this point. Two major parties dominate the system: The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the People’s Power Party (PPP). Ideology on the Korean peninsula is complicated to say the least, and to call one “conservative” or the other “liberal” would be such an oversimplification that no semblance of truth would remain. What’s most relevant to the situation is each party’s stance on Korean unification and North Korea. The Democratic Party tends to have a more relaxed view, emphasizing détente, disarmament, and ultimately, unification. By contrast, the People’s Power Party takes a very hardline stance, not only obstruent to any form of peace deal, but in favor of South Korea developing their own nuclear weapons to rival those of the North. Yoon Suk Yeol is the president of South Korea, as well as a member of the People’s Power Party. His tenure has been noted for its staunch conservatism and democratic backsliding; his campaign promises including scraping away some of the institutionalized protections for women and lgbtq+ people that were present in the government. Under his rule, freedom of press and assembly have suffered considerably, and members of his administration have taken a record number of bribes ever since the arrest of former conservative president Park Geun-hye (Keep in mind, she is important to our story later). Yoon’s approval ratings have also ranked consistently low.
During the 2024 Korean Legislative elections in April, the Democratic Party won a majority of seats in the unicameral National Assembly. This meant that Yoon had effectively lost power over the law-making body of the government; on top of this, Yoon’s approval ratings were at an all time low at 17% while a survey in November gauged that 58% of the country wanted to either see him resign or impeached. As early as September, DPK politicians were predicting that Yoon was preparing to utilize martial law; now, what is martial law exactly, and what does it entail in the ROK? Martial law can be declared by the president, essentially allowing full control over the country in times of necessity. Martial law orders prohibit political activities, such as the gathering of the National Assembly, and allows the military headed by the president to take complete governmental control over the media, abolishing the free press. Martial law had been used in South Korea before; in 1980, general Chun Doo-hwan used martial law to seize control of the country and dissolve the National assembly, establishing a military dictatorship that would rule the country for the next seven years, only toppled by the protests of the June Uprising in 1987 (the authoritarian government made democratic concessions as resorting to violence was seen as undesirable for publicity preceding the upcoming 1988 Seoul Olympic Games). What does this all mean? Martial law was a potential solution to Yoon’s problem; if he could seize the government and dissolve the legislature, there would be no opposition to hinder him. In fact, the Yoon government attempted to provoke a crisis with the North to justify the declaration of Martial law. The North and South have a tradition of sending balloons filled with propaganda or sewage to the other side. In October, the military began to send leaflet-scattering drones instead, escalating the situation. Park Beom-kye, a prominent member of the DPK, claimed that Yoon authorized the move to intentionally stoke the flames of tension with the north.
However, while many politicians saw the buildup to the declaration, the population of South Korea and the rest of the world were caught utterly off guard. Since the collapse of the dictatorship in 1987, South Korea was viewed by most as a highly stable and functioning democracy, largely devoid of internal turmoil or large-scale conflict after the 20th century. Now, the images being sent to TV screens across the world were very shocking.
Soldiers were advancing on the capitol building to forcibly dissolve the parliament.
Members of the National Assembly had to barricade the doors with couches and other furniture.
No one was quite sure what exactly was happening; Yoon claimed the declaration came after he was firmly convinced that the opposition of the country was colluding with the North, which was a baseless and false accusation that most saw right through. This was a coup d'état, a shameless power grab, unthinkable in a country as stable as the ROK. In just a few short hours, protests erupted across the country against the martial law declaration, revolting against the clear destruction of democracy in the country. The barricades of the National Assembly combined with the reluctance of the military (who were mostly conscripts, as South Korea has compulsory military service) enabled the legislature to convene long enough to unanimously vote to overturn the declaration of Martial Law, including all of the members of Yoon’s party as well. Whether this vote would be respected or not was unclear. In fact, Yoon had already struck plans for the mass detention of political figures in the country. At 22:53, Yoon made a call to National Intelligence Service (NIS) Deputy Director Hong Jang-won to discuss the arrest of several of the most prominent politicians in the country, saying that he wanted to "use this chance to arrest them and wipe them out." Among those on the lists were:
So… What now? Well, this is essentially political suicide for Yoon. He is almost certainly going to be impeached, and the entire country is going to make sure of it, whether DPK or PPP. But what it proves is that this kind of grab at power, even if failed, can happen in anywhere, even countries that are traditionally considered “democracies.” Yoon, in many different ways, resembles Donald Trump. We must watch attentively over the next four years, as this sort of abuse of power may prove to be something he himself attempts.
During the 2024 Korean Legislative elections in April, the Democratic Party won a majority of seats in the unicameral National Assembly. This meant that Yoon had effectively lost power over the law-making body of the government; on top of this, Yoon’s approval ratings were at an all time low at 17% while a survey in November gauged that 58% of the country wanted to either see him resign or impeached. As early as September, DPK politicians were predicting that Yoon was preparing to utilize martial law; now, what is martial law exactly, and what does it entail in the ROK? Martial law can be declared by the president, essentially allowing full control over the country in times of necessity. Martial law orders prohibit political activities, such as the gathering of the National Assembly, and allows the military headed by the president to take complete governmental control over the media, abolishing the free press. Martial law had been used in South Korea before; in 1980, general Chun Doo-hwan used martial law to seize control of the country and dissolve the National assembly, establishing a military dictatorship that would rule the country for the next seven years, only toppled by the protests of the June Uprising in 1987 (the authoritarian government made democratic concessions as resorting to violence was seen as undesirable for publicity preceding the upcoming 1988 Seoul Olympic Games). What does this all mean? Martial law was a potential solution to Yoon’s problem; if he could seize the government and dissolve the legislature, there would be no opposition to hinder him. In fact, the Yoon government attempted to provoke a crisis with the North to justify the declaration of Martial law. The North and South have a tradition of sending balloons filled with propaganda or sewage to the other side. In October, the military began to send leaflet-scattering drones instead, escalating the situation. Park Beom-kye, a prominent member of the DPK, claimed that Yoon authorized the move to intentionally stoke the flames of tension with the north.
However, while many politicians saw the buildup to the declaration, the population of South Korea and the rest of the world were caught utterly off guard. Since the collapse of the dictatorship in 1987, South Korea was viewed by most as a highly stable and functioning democracy, largely devoid of internal turmoil or large-scale conflict after the 20th century. Now, the images being sent to TV screens across the world were very shocking.
Soldiers were advancing on the capitol building to forcibly dissolve the parliament.
Members of the National Assembly had to barricade the doors with couches and other furniture.
No one was quite sure what exactly was happening; Yoon claimed the declaration came after he was firmly convinced that the opposition of the country was colluding with the North, which was a baseless and false accusation that most saw right through. This was a coup d'état, a shameless power grab, unthinkable in a country as stable as the ROK. In just a few short hours, protests erupted across the country against the martial law declaration, revolting against the clear destruction of democracy in the country. The barricades of the National Assembly combined with the reluctance of the military (who were mostly conscripts, as South Korea has compulsory military service) enabled the legislature to convene long enough to unanimously vote to overturn the declaration of Martial Law, including all of the members of Yoon’s party as well. Whether this vote would be respected or not was unclear. In fact, Yoon had already struck plans for the mass detention of political figures in the country. At 22:53, Yoon made a call to National Intelligence Service (NIS) Deputy Director Hong Jang-won to discuss the arrest of several of the most prominent politicians in the country, saying that he wanted to "use this chance to arrest them and wipe them out." Among those on the lists were:
- Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung
- National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik
- People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon
- Democratic Party Rep. Kim Min-seok
- Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae
- National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Jung Chung-rae
- Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk
- Liberal journalist Kim Ou-joon
- Many others.
So… What now? Well, this is essentially political suicide for Yoon. He is almost certainly going to be impeached, and the entire country is going to make sure of it, whether DPK or PPP. But what it proves is that this kind of grab at power, even if failed, can happen in anywhere, even countries that are traditionally considered “democracies.” Yoon, in many different ways, resembles Donald Trump. We must watch attentively over the next four years, as this sort of abuse of power may prove to be something he himself attempts.
