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

explainers & timelines

The following are a selection of useful explainers and timelines to quickly grasp these developments:

Explainers

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

Australian Broadcasting Corporation – timeline

BBC News – timeline

ABS-CBN - timeline

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.

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.