By Choe Sang-Hun
The brief martial law proclamation by President Yoon Suk Yeol has sparked South Korea’s most significant constitutional turmoil since the democratization process began in the late 1980s.
On Saturday, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, marking him as the third South Korean president to be suspended from his role through this process.
Yet, the political future of the country remains mired in uncertainty.
Yoon’s destiny, as an unpopular figure, is now with the Constitutional Court, which is expected to rule within six months on whether he will be reinstated or officially removed from office.
Beyond impeachment, Yoon is facing a criminal investigation, the first of its kind aimed at a sitting South Korean president. He has been prohibited from leaving South Korea while police and prosecutors look into whether he and his allies in the government and military engaged in insurrection by deploying armed forces to the National Assembly this month.
Here is the current situation for Yoon and South Korea.
What led to the impeachment of the president?
The martial law order issued by Yoon on December 3, which imposed military control for the first time in 45 years, was in effect for only six hours. However, it plunged South Korea’s democracy into turmoil and sparked public outrage, reminiscent of the nation’s troubled past with military dictatorships.
In the impeachment proposal, opposition legislators claimed that Yoon instigated an insurrection by declaring martial law and deploying troops into the assembly to prevent lawmakers from exercising their constitutional right to vote against the decree.
The initial impeachment attempt on December 7 was unsuccessful due to a boycott by the legislators from Yoon’s People Power Party, who argued that he ought to be given an opportunity to resign first.
On Saturday, the party officially opposed the impeachment, yet allowed its members to participate in a secret ballot. The results revealed that 12 lawmakers from Yoon’s party sided with the opposition to impeach him, while 11 others abstained or cast invalid votes, sealing his fate.
The final vote count was 204 in favor and 85 against.
What are the allegations against the president?
Investigations into Yoon focus on the deployment of armed forces to the National Assembly.
Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, who commanded a special forces unit that was dispatched to the assembly, stated that he was instructed to forcibly remove lawmakers to stop 150 of them — the required number needed to revoke martial law — from gathering.
According to South Korea’s criminal code, insurrection is defined as any act aimed at “overthrowing government bodies established by the constitution or preventing them from performing their functions through force.”
If Yoon is found guilty of insurrection and deemed the instigator, he could face capital punishment or life imprisonment. Prosecutors have detained his former defense minister and two ex-police chiefs for allegedly aiding in the insurrection.
What prompted Yoon’s actions?
Yoon has claimed that he declared martial law out of “desperation” in response to an opposition that wielded its parliamentary majority to “paralyze” his administration. He criticized the opposition for cutting key portions of his proposed government budgets for the upcoming year and for their recurrent efforts to impeach his appointees.
However, experts like Kim Young Hoon, president of the Korean Bar Association, previously informed The New York Times that such grievances are not justifiable grounds for a martial law declaration. Additionally, Yoon neglected to promptly inform the National Assembly of his martial law decree as required by law, as stated by the assembly.
“It’s evident that President Yoon’s declaration of martial law did not satisfy the constitutional requirements,” Kim remarked.
Cho Ji-ho, head of the National Police Agency, informed the assembly on Monday that during the brief martial law period, the military requested police assistance to find and detain 15 individuals, including leaders of major political parties.
Even with martial law in effect, the president does not possess the authority to detain lawmakers unless they are caught in the act of committing a crime.
What are the next steps?
Yoon has pledged to legally contest his impeachment to reclaim his authority.
In a recorded address delivered shortly after his impeachment, he enumerated what he regards as his achievements as president, including efforts to enhance military cooperation with the United States and Japan. He indicated that these efforts have now been halted.
“But I will never surrender,” he asserted.
The court is expected to determine within the next 180 days whether Yoon is guilty of the offenses charged by the National Assembly, and if so, whether the seriousness of these offenses warrants his removal from office. Should the court formally remove him, South Korea would be obligated to conduct a new leadership election within a two-month timeframe.
During Yoon’s suspension, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the second-highest official in the government, will act as interim leader. Given that Han is not an elected official, he will govern South Korea without significant political leverage as the nation confronts issues such as North Korea’s escalating nuclear threat and the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House.
While awaiting the Constitutional Court’s decision regarding his impeachment, Yoon is also monitoring the progress of investigators. It remains unclear when they will question him or whether they might attempt to detain him.
The travel ban is often seen as a precursor to arrest, as noted by Kim Jongcheol, a law professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, in previous remarks to the Times.
