By Tom Fowdy
South Korea's Constitutional Court has ruled to uphold the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-Yeol, with every single judge voting in favour of it.
On December 3rd, 2024, President Yoon declared martial law in response to a gridlock in the National Assembly and the context of mounting scandals pertaining to his wife's conduct. He accused the opposition of "collaborating with North Korea" and immediately mobilized the military, who raided and attempted to blockade the national assembly building.
The crisis was nipped in the bud as the assembly was able to still convene and overturn the declaration, yet this did not subside the trauma or severity that Yoon's actions caused, setting off a bitter political conflict that has dragged on for months, showing how South Korea has been subject to the same extreme polarisation witnessed in the United States and countries. The extreme defiance exhibited by his supporters, some of whom resorted to violence and intimidation, defended his actions.
However, the case against him proved to be unambiguous, and the court announced that Yoon's actions, across the board, were wholly unjustified, a flagrant abuse of power, and a blatant attack on the democratic and constitutional process. For most South Koreans, this outcome will be a huge relief, as Yoon's actions heralded a return to the dark days of the pre-democratic South Korea, where martial law under the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-Hwan was the rule of the day.
Yoon's party, of course, is heir to this legacy. They, "the people power party" as they call themselves now (The political party name changes constantly) are derived from the Anti-Communist tradition of South Korean politics, which justified brutal, McCarthyist dictatorship, citing the North Korean bogeyman. In the 1960s and even early 1970s, this was a credible political position to hold, for the DPRK was at that point in history a wealthier and militarily powerful state in an era where Communism was an appealing tool of national liberation, and able to overturn rotten US-backed regimes such as in South Vietnam.
However, the world changed, and South Korea transformed into an economic and technological powerhouse as Pyongyang declined and soon deteriorated. With that, the McCarthyist dictatorships of Seoul lost legitimacy by the late 1980s, and the people rebelled, often with great tragedy, ushering in the Republic of Korea's evolution into a functional democracy. Yet, the memories and fears of that awful period hang over many people's heads and it cannot be taken for granted as the legacy of Yoon will now remind us.
In countries such as the United Kingdom, we really do take democracy lightly. In Britain, our system has been so stable and pragmatic for centuries (although I worry about the future), and our conventions respected, that we do not know what it is like to experience what South Korea has gone through. Even during the Second World War, of course there were "national security" fundamentals and restrictions, all while elections were suspended, yet we did not declare martial law, we didn't have to. It is only since 2016 that British politics has descended into polarisation and bitterness, but the sovereignty of Parliament and its conventions are so well rooted and respected that I could never imagine a Prime Minister declaring martial law to thwart its will, it's just not what we do.
On the other hand, the Republic of Korea's democratic era from 1987 onwards has been a bitter struggle against two political camps, with roughly half or less or the country supporting the "legacy" of the previous era, still battling for the soul of a new constitutional order under the shadow of a divided nation that having also been thrust into the modern world so fast, hasn't found its belonging just yet. As such, every single Conservative President of the country has subsequently engaged in wrongdoing, grotesque manipulation, and ended up in jail.
Yoon is just another to add to this list, perhaps going further and more extreme than any of the rest, and thus it is thoroughly good news to see his demise. It is likely that the "People Power Party" will face another long period in the political wilderness over the legacy of this martial law fiasco (as they did from 1987-2010) and hopefully this can pave the way for greater peace on the Korean Peninsula, productive regional engagement and of course avoiding the inevitable bootlicking of Donald Trump Yoon would have ushered in. Even as we see these things shockingly deteriorate in America, the rule of law and common sense have prevailed in South Korea precisely because, unlike in the former, the people actually understand what is at stake.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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