MARTIAL LAW PUSHBACK IN SOUTH KOREA
This section provides access to English-language analysis concerning the unfolding democratic crisis in South Korea, where at 10.23pm on the evening of Tuesday 3 December 2024 (Seoul time) President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. Mere hours later, and following strong pushback by the National Assembly and citizens, President Yoon announced that martial law would be lifted.
This collection aims to serve as a starting point for an international audience to grasp the detail of these developments, bearing in mind that the central analysis is available in the Korean language. This section also draws on research Demoptimism Director Tom Daly has conducted for a forthcoming report for International IDEA on Designing Resistance to Democratic Backsliding in Asia. Most importantly, we are keen to draw lessons on resistance and democratic resilience from this episode.
Page Editors:
Prof. Tomás Daly, Director, DEM-DEC
Dr Jeong-In Yun, Research Professor, Korea University
Submit Items Here
This is a collaborative resource. To submit suggested items to this collection, click the link below to share links to English-language media coverage, analyses, policy documents, and press releases that address the ongoing democratic crisis in South Korea.
FEATURED ITEMS
EVENT: MARTIAL LAW CRISIS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOUTH KOREA’S DEMOCRACY - 18 DECEMBER
Featuring Dr. Jeong-In Yun of Korea University, a leading expert in Korean constitutional law, this session will delve into the implications of these developments and their impact on one of Asia's most dynamic democracies.
11:00 AM (London)
10.00 PM (Melbourne)
6.00 AM (New York)
PRESIDENT’S MARTIAL LAW ADDRESS
Find the text of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s address below.
MARTIAL LAW DECLARATION
Read an unofficial English-language translation of the declaration here. The declaration was made by Army General Park An-Su.
OPEN STATEMENT
Call for an Immediate Reintroduction and the Passage of the Impeachment Bill to Restore the Constitutional Order. Signed by hundreds of political scientists from Korea and internationally.
watch
Event 16 December 2024 - Martial Law in South Korea: What Happened and What’s Next? - Harvard Ash Center
When presented with a clear threat to democratic norms and institutions by the President’s declaration of martial law, many quarters of South Korean politics and society rejected that violation almost instantaneously. This stands in contrast to the politically polarized responses to election skepticism and January 6th in the United States. Why was this and who led the defense of South Korean democracy?
blog posts
Featured Jeong-In YUN, ‘2024 Martial Law in South Korea — The Crossroads Between Democratic Regression or Proof of Strong Democracy’ IACL-AIDC Blog (6 December 2024)
Sayuri UMEDA, ‘FALQs: South Korean Martial Law’ In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress [USA] (27 December 2024)
David MAXWELL, ‘South Korea’s Special Forces and the Preservation of Democracy’ Small Wars Journal (12 December 2024)
Gil-Soo HAN, ‘Martial law outrage: Can South Koreans protect their democracy?’ Lens (12 December 2024)
Binamra GURUNG, ‘Martial Law in South Korea: A Constitutional Crossroad’ King’s Think Tank (12 December 2024)
Josephina LEE, ‘When Democracy Prevails: On the Recent Events in South Korea’ Verfassungsblog (5 December 2024)
LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS
Leah SARNOFF & Will GRETSKY, ‘South Korean investigators seek to arrest President Yoon over martial law declaration’ ABC News (30 December 2024)
Ruth COMERFORD, ‘S Korean president accused of ordering use of guns to stop martial law vote’ BBC News (28 December 2024)
Hye Jung HAN & John SIFTON, ‘In South Korea, Democracy and Human Rights Prevail’ Human Rights Watch (16 December 2024)
THE NEW YORK TIMES, ‘South Korea’s President Impeached Over Martial Law Crisis’ (14 December 2024)
Jean MACKENZIE, ‘Net closing in on South Korea's president as MPs get death threats over impeachment vote’ BBC News (12 December 2024)
Myunghee LEE & Sungik YANG, ‘South Korea shook a presidential power grab – failure to impeach now risks damaging democracy’ The Conversation (12 December 2024)
Se Eun GONG, ‘South Korea's Yoon defends martial law decree as an act of governance’ NPR (12 December 2024)
Ju-min PARK & Joyce LEE, ‘South Korea President Yoon banned from foreign travel as leadership crisis deepens’ Reuters (10 December 2024)
Michelle KIM, ‘South Korea Is in Constitutional Chaos’ Foreign Policy (9 December 2024)
YANG Seung Shik, YANG Jiho & LEE Jae-eun, ‘South Korea's military in turmoil after martial law fallout’ The Chosun Daily (9 December 2024)
Ju-min PARK, Joyce LEE & Cynthia KIM, ‘South Korea's Yoon survives impeachment move, party leader says president will resign’ Reuters (8 December 2024)
Kathleen CALDERWOOD, Sookyoung LEE & Fletcher YEUNG, ‘South Korea President Yoon apologises to nation for martial law declaration ahead of impeachment vote’ ABC News (7 December 2024)
REUTERS, ‘South Korea’s Yoon apologizes for martial law, but does not resign ahead of impeachment vote’ (7 December 2024)
Rachit GOEL, ‘Resilient Democracy: How South Korea’s Institutions Rejected Authoritarian Overreach’ The Diplomat (7 December 2024)
Ellie KAUFMAN & T. Michelle Murphy, ‘South Korea's ruling party now believes it is 'necessary' to suspend President Yoon’ ABC News (6 December 2024)
REUTERS, ‘S.Korea commander says he will refuse to implement any new martial law order, say media reports’ (6 December 2024)
Christian DAVIES & SONG Jung-a, ‘South Korea’s ruling party warns Yoon Suk Yeol could impose martial law again’ Financial Times (6 December 2024)
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA, ‘Ruling party leader says South Korea president must be suspended as soon as possible’ (6 December 2024)
ABC NEWS, ‘South Korea's main opposition party says MPs on high alert after reports of another martial law declaration’ (6 December)
Chad DE GUZMAN, ‘After South Korea’s Martial Law Meltdown, What Comes Next?’ Time (5 December 2024)
AL-JAZEERA, ‘South Korea martial law crisis: What’s next for President Yoon?’ (5 December 2024)
Julian RYALL, ‘South Korea: What's next after Yoon's martial law fiasco?’ Deutsche Welle (4 December 2024)
explainers & timelines
The following are a selection of useful explainers and timelines to quickly grasp these developments:
Explainers
Yvette TAN, Frances MAO & Jake KWON, ‘Why South Korea has been gripped by political instability’ BBC News (27 December 2024)
Mark E. MANYIN, ‘South Korean Political Crisis: Martial Law and Impeachment’ Congressional Research Service (USA) (23 December 2024)
KIM Tong-Hyung, ‘A look at the whirlwind events that led to the impeachment of South Korea's president’ ABC News (12 December 2024)
Jack GREENBERG, ‘South Korea’s political crisis: Who’s who in martial law declaration fallout’ KoreaPro (12 December 2024)
Vina NADJIBULLA & Erin WILLIAMS, ‘Explainer: Democracy Under Pressure: Yoon's Failed Martial Law and South Korea's Political Turmoil’ Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (10 December 2024)
Foster KLUG and Hyung-Jin KIM, ‘Who is the South Korean president who imposed martial law?’ Associated Press (6 December 2024)
KIM Tong-Hyung, ‘South Korea lifts president's martial law decree after lawmakers reject military rule’ Associated Press (4 December 2024)
Josh SMITH, ‘South Korean president's failed attempt at martial law may put his position in peril’ Reuters (4 December 2024)
REUTERS, ‘Explainer: What we know about South Korea's martial law declaration’ (4 December 2024)
Frances MAO & Jake KWON, ‘Why South Korea's president suddenly declared martial law’ BBC News (4 December 2024).
Timelines
POLITICAL CONTEXT
President Yoon has been a lame duck president since National Assembly elections in April, in which the opposition Democratic Party (DP) won a landslide victory.
Mitch SHIN, ‘In South Korea, President Yoon’s Lame Duck Era Officially Begins’ The Diplomat (11 April 2024).
Hyung-Jin KIM, ‘Why did Yoon’s party lose in South Korea’s elections and what troubles does he face now?’ Associated Press (12 April 2024).
CONSTITUTIONAL & DEMOCRATIC CONTEXT
In recent years there has been growing concern about the challenges facing South Korean democracy. This is a short selection of key pieces.
Journal Articles
Seungwoo HAN, ‘Analyzing “Jayu” in South Korean presidential rhetoric: a comprehensive study from 1948–2023 with a focus on the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’ (2024) 11 Humanities and Social Science Communications 738.
Faris AL-FADHAT &Jin-Wook CHOI, ‘Insights From The 2022 South Korean Presidential Election: Polarisation, Fractured Politics, Inequality, and Constraints on Power’ (2023) 53(4) Journal of Contemporary Asia 724.
Yeilim CHEONG & Stephan HAGGARD, ‘Political polarization in Korea’ (2023) 30(7) Democratization 1215.
Lauren DOEFF, ‘South Korea Is Not In Democratic Backslide (Yet)’ E-International Relations (5 July 2022)
Gi-Wook SHIN, ‘South Korea's Democratic Decay’ (2020) 31(3) Journal of Democracy 100.
Books
Joan E. CHO, Seeds of Mobilization: The Authoritarian Roots of South Korea's Democracy (University of Michigan Press, 2024)
Gi-Wook SHIN & Ho-Ki KIM (eds), South Korea’s Democracy in Crisis: The Threats of Illiberalism, Populism, and Polarization (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022).
Open Access - download here HYUG Baeg Im, Democratization and Democracy in Korea, 1960-Present (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
> find also an illuminating revie of the book here.
global context
Laurie KELLMANN & KIM Tong-Hyung, ‘South Korea's Democracy Held After a 6-Hour Power Play. What Does It Say for Democracies Elsewhere?’ Military.com (9 December 2024).
Sheena CHESTNUT GREITENS, ‘The Global Consequences of Yoon’s Martial Law Gambit’ (4 December 2024).
LESSONS ON RESISTANCE & RESILIENCE
As indicated above, we aim to draw lessons on resisting authoritarian maneouvres and on democratic resilience from this episode. We welcome any thoughts on these issues, or submissions about these issues - you can use the button below.