By Johanna LARSSON KRAUSOVÁ (LUX-S6SVA)
Edited by Filipa SLYTA (LUX-S7SVA)
South Korea has one of the most fascinating modern histories of the world. It has clawed its way through a Japanese occupation, the Korean war, decades of dictatorship, and corruption scandal after corruption scandal. Today, it’s the fourth largest economy in Asia and an important democratic ally to NATO. However, a rather brutal reminder of the country’s past was delivered on December 3rd 2024, when President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law with little to no warning. Despite being upheaved only six hours later, the situation deeply shook the country. But why did this happen now, and what exactly does martial law mean to South Koreans?
In South Korea, martial law is a painful reminder of the past. South Korea became a democracy in 1988, and the measure has not been put into place since. Under martial law, all political activities are banned, media is placed under government control and anyone who violates the law can be arrested without a warrant. It is meant to be a way for the president to keep control in wartime – but of course, power like that is easily misused. Under the rule of dictator Park Chung-hee in the sixties and seventies, military law was frequently used to enforce authority and crack down on protests. His dictatorship was replaced by another in 1979, which used similar methods. The infamous Gwangju uprising in 1980 saw hundreds of civilians massacred during a protest in the city of Gwangju, where students were protesting precisely against the martial law that had been introduced. It’s easy to see why President Yoon’s actions were so upsetting to so many people.
South Korea is not a stranger to political scandals. In 2014, the ferry MV Sewol sunk, killing 304 people, including around 250 high school students. Outrage was directed against the government for downplaying the effects of the disaster, refusing aid from other countries and even falsely reporting that everyone onboard had been rescued. Two former presidents have been imprisoned for corruption, and even the current leader of the opposition Lee Jae-myung is currently being investigated for the crime of violating election law. Some South Korean chaebols – large, family-owned business conglomerates – have been involved in tax evasion and corruption, but have hardly been properly investigated, presumably due to the massive influence they have on the country’s economy. Hence, it hardly comes as a surprise that in 2023, only 37% of Soth Koreans reported having high or moderately high trust in the government, according to the OECD.
And of course, we cannot mention South Korean politics without talking about its Northern counterpart. President Yoon claimed in his televised announcement on December 3rd that he was declaring martial law to protect the country from anti-state forces that sympathize with North Korea. The relations between the two countries have alternated in aggressiveness, depending on the sitting president of South Korea and their stance on the subject. For obvious reasons, it is a sensitive subject in South Korea and the population’s fear of communist and North Korean influences is easily leveraged against them. President Yoon is not the first president to alleged North Korean sympathizers as a scapegoat to excuse their actions. For example, during the aforementioned Gwangju uprising, the government stated the student protest against martial law had actually been a riot incited by communist sympathizers.
It is highly doubtful that the South Korean parliament is actually being, as President Yoon said, controlled by anti-democratic forces that have disturbed social order. The opposition currently have a majority in parliament, meaning President Yoon has had a hard time getting his legislation through. He claims he used his power in accordance with the South Korean constitution, which states that the president can enforce martial law in a state of national emergency to maintain public safety and order. The constitution does not, however, say that the president can limit the power of the National Assembly, and yet several officials have testified that the president ordered armed forces to prevent lawmakers from gathering. The president’s response? That the dispatching of the army to the National Assembly was a symbolic gesture to maintain order.
It is clear that President Yoon’s motives for declaring martial law are shaky at best. Lawmakers have voted for his impeachment and handed the case over to court. The massive protests happening in the country, marked by k-pop songs and the use of lightsticks, have shown that South Koreans are willing to fight for their hard-earned democracy. There are still significant challenges with the political situation in South Korea. As North Korea continues to escalate missile testing and Donald Trump, who has had contentious exchanges with Kim Jong-un in the past, moves toward a second term as U.S. president, concerns about regional stability are growing. For their own sake, we can only hope that South Koreans manage to keep themselves out of another political crisis and navigate their complexities.