South Korea: Why Yoon Suk Yeol Declared Martial Law, What Happens Next?

Seoul, South Korea: In a surprise move, Yoon Suk Yeol, President of South Korea announced the imposition of martial law. He cited a motion by the main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a parliamentary majority, to impeach top prosecutors and reject a government budget proposal, for imposing the law. He accused opposition of sympathising with North Korea, and engaging in anti-state activities. It appears that he dug his own grave.

Less than two hours into the imposing of the law, lawmakers forced their way past soldiers to vote to strike down his decree. Opposition called the move illegal and unconstitutional. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung urged Democratic Party MPs to gather and vote to reject the declaration. Within six hours of the declaration, Yoon had to walk back his announcement.

During the short hours of the declaration, power shift was observed with military deploying troops and police to the National Assembly building, where helicopters were spotted landing on the roof.

Also Read: South Korea Lifts Martial Law; Opposition Demands Resignation Or Impeachment For The President

Thousands gathered demonstrating. Despite the military presence, the lawmakers managed to bypass the barricades, and unanimously voted to block the decree during an emergency late-night session, with 190 of South Korea’s 300 National Assembly members present.

Yoon started to face declining public support for past few months now. A survey last month showed that his approval rating has fallen to 25 percentage.

In his martial law declaration, he cited 22 impeachment motions filed against administration officials since he took office in May 2022, and did not mentioned any specific threat from North Korea. Since assuming office in 2022, he faced challenges in advancing his agenda in an opposition-controlled parliament. His party is now locked in a deadlock with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget. Yoon has also rejected calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and senior officials, paving way for criticism from his political opponents.

Now, a group of lawmakers from the opposition said that they plan to introduce a bill to impeach Yoon on Wednesday, and is expected to vote on the matter within 72 hours. In Seoul, the National Assembly can impeach the president if more than two-thirds of lawmakers vote for it. The Democratic Party, along with some smaller parties, holds 192 seats, just eight short of the 200 needed to impeach the president.

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Notably, some members of Yoon’s People Power Party also strongly opposed his martial law declaration. It remains unclear how many of them, if any, will join the opposition if a motion is put to a vote. Some members handed over their resignation following the calling off of the decree.

If the impeachment is approved, Yoon will face a trial before the Constitutional Court, a nine-member body that oversees South Korea’s government branches. If six of the court’s members vote to uphold the impeachment, the president will be removed from office. If Yoon is to leave the office, the Prime Minister will serve as the caretaker leader, and a new election will be held within 60 days.