On Dec. 3, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law at 10:27 p.m. According to South Korea’s Martial Law Act,the purpose of emergency martial law is for “military necessity” or to maintain “public security and order when there are belligerency or serious disturbances of social order” which impede functions of the state in times of war or “other equivalent national emergency.” Within the hours of the announcement and its retraction at 4:26 a.m. through the morning of Dec. 4, the president was met with crowds of lawmakers and armed civilians and soldiers all interested in reversing the motion.
The decision led to thousands of South Korean citizens calling for President Yoon to be impeached. To oppose the declaration in the National Assembly, Members of Parliament climbed fences and overcame barricades. Representative Lee Seong Yoon shared his experience of having to climb an almost five-foot fence because police refused to let him enter even after providing identification of his position as a lawmaker.
President Yoon expressed his reasoning for imposing the martial law edict was to remove anti-state rebellions siding with North Korea that were supposedly on the rise. Yoon’s lead up to presidency came with multiple scandals and low approval rates from the general public. Prior to the declaration, Yoon’s administration had their projected budget fail to pass and some members of his cabinet were in the process of being impeached due to a previous financial scandal first lady Kim Keon Hee was involved in.
To impeach the president, the National Assembly must obtain a two-thirds majority vote. The opposition Democratic Party had 192 of the 300 seats, so it needed eight more votes from Yoon’s party, the People Power Party (PPP). The first attempt to impeach President Yoon failed due to his supporters in the PPP boycotting the vote. However, the second attempt on Dec. 14, passed with 12 PPP members voting in favor of the impeachment.
With this, Yoon has been suspended and has a no-fly ban against him and the Constitutional Court has six months to finalize the impeachment with a trial. If it is judged that he is no longer fit to serve as president, there must be an election for the new president within the 60 days after the announcement.
On Dec. 27, South Korean authorities attempted to arrest Yoon at his residence, but were unable to make the arrest after almost five hours since arriving at the residence. Along with personal security layered within the home, Yoon’s supporters also created a human barrier outside as another form of blockade. Some waved American flags to signify the alliance South Korea has with the United States.
Yoon’s lawyers refused to allow the arrest, expressing that the warrant was illegal. They explained that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, although one of the groups pursuing Yoon, does not have jurisdiction over the police to request a warrant. Due to the refusal from his lawyers and a large amount of pressure from civilian blockades, the police retreated forces.
Prior to the Dec. 3 to 4 martial law, South Korea has had a history of military authority over the country. Dictators rose from the separation and war with North Korea in the early 1950s. These dictators regularly enforced martial law to keep civilians from engaging in anti-state gatherings or agendas.
In 1961, the first coup occurred and placed Army Gen. Park Chung Hee in power, and he, just as the dictators did, declared martial law on more than one occasion to punish those who opposed him. After leading South Korea for 20 years, the second coup occurred in December of 1979. With a troupe of tanks, Maj. Gen. Chun Doo Hwan took over Seoul and the rest of the country.
The following year he assembled a military attack against a pro-democracy civilian uprising in the southern city Gwangju, killing over 200 people. In 1987, there was a protest to change the government to be one of elections rather than dictatorship, and since then there were no declarations of martial law until this account.
BBC expresses that analysts expect judges to reach a verdict from the Constitutional Court by February on whether or not President Yoon will be impeached.
