Janice R. Andrews
South Korea is in the middle of a political storm that has caused a lot of debate and worries about the security of the country’s democracy. The debate started when the liberal opposition said President Yoon Suk-yeol might declare martial law to escape being impeached. This would be the first time martial law has been used in South Korea since 1987. These claims have started a very heated political fight that shows how divided the country’s politics are getting.
Charges against the opposition and echoes from the past
The opposition groups, which control most of the National Assembly, say that the conservative president is planning to use martial rule as a last-ditch effort to stay in power. These accusations come from a long-running disagreement between President Yoon and the opposition. They have been fighting over many problems since Yoon took office in May 2022. The opposition says that Yoon’s repeated use of the veto to stop parliamentary bills—especially those that would have looked into claims of corruption and power abuse involving him and his wife—shows that he doesn’t want to be held responsible.
South Korea has a troubled past with martial law, especially during the authoritarian period that ended with the country’s democratic shift in 1987. This is what these claims are based on. People are very worried about the opposition’s threats because they remind them of how South Korea used to harshly crack down on criticism.
A New Low Point in Politics
This week, President Yoon was the first South Korean president in decades to skip the opening event of a newly elected government. This made things even more tense. Many saw his absence as an intentional snub to the assembly, which was run by the opposition. The presidential office supported Yoon’s choice by saying that the opposition was still trying to get special probes and parliamentary hearings set up, which could lead to his impeachment.
This happened after a string of bad experiences between Yoon and opposition lawmakers. One notable event happened in October, when opposition lawmakers refused to shake Yoon’s hand and held a protest while he was in parliament. These events show how deeply angry and unwilling to work together the two sides are.
Stories about martial law and how the government responded
There was more talk about martial law after lawmakers from the opposition said the Yoon administration might use it as an excuse to handle a fake crisis with North Korea. Under martial law, the president would be in charge of the courts and could call in the military to keep the peace. This is something that critics say could silence political criticism and keep the National Assembly from doing its job.
The fact that President Yoon has talked about cracking down on “anti-state forces” in response to North Korea’s threats has made these worries even stronger. The opposition is even more worried that Yoon might be setting the stage for such a big move because he put friends in important military jobs like defense minister and military intelligence chief.
The opposition has said that Yoon’s government is a lot like that of former President Park Geun-hye. Park Geun-hye’s government planned to use martial law and arrest politicians before she was removed from office in 2017. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, asked during a press conference, “Isn’t this a perfect dictatorship?” to show how serious the claims were.
The presidential office strongly denies the claims and says the opposition is spreading “fabricated claims” and using marketing methods similar to those used by totalitarian governments. “There may be martial law in the heads of Democratic Party members, but there is no martial law in ours,” said Jeong Hye-jeon, a presidential office spokesperson. She said the opposition’s acts were an attempt to sway public opinion and give them a reason to push for Yoon’s removal from office.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also denied the reports of martial rule, saying that the people would not accept such actions and that any government trying to put them into place would not be able to stay in power.
Political divisions are getting worse, and people are losing hope.
Political experts say that the present chaos is making South Korea’s already divided politics even worse. Choi Jin, who runs the Institute for Presidential Leadership, called what’s happening a “war of attrition” that’s making things worse without getting better. He said that this political impasse could make the country less stable and make people dislike the government.
Professor of political science at Chosun University Jhee Byong-kuen said that President Yoon’s way of leading has made things more difficult for everyone. “The president doesn’t seem to want to compromise,” Jhee said, pointing out that Yoon used to be a lawyer and that he tends to push his own plan forward instead of trying to find common ground.
Asks people to be calm and work together
Because of these events, many daily articles have asked both the president and the opposition to be calm. The Chosun daily talked about how important it is for the executive and parliamentary branches to work together, especially since they have to deal with important problems like low birth rates and pension reform. The commentary warned that if the current standoff lasts, Yoon and the 22nd National Assembly could end their terms with little to show for them. This would be bad for the country as a whole of course.
South Korea is going through a very rough political time, and everyone is watching to see how its leaders will deal with the growing problems. If this conflict ends badly, it could affect how Yoon handles future political problems in one of Asia’s strongest democracies. It could also have an effect on the rest of Yoon’s government.
