[USHERING IN 2025] Political turmoil in S. Korea: From martial law declaration to presidential impeachment


Korea was struck by surprising political events like no other in 2024, triggered by the president’s martial law declaration earlier this month.
As we look back on the past year, our political correspondent Shin Ha-young is here in the studio to recap the matter and give us a preview of what’s ahead next year.
Welcome, Ha-young.

Thanks for having me.

Ha-young, before we delve into what happened, could you give a quick overview of the political situation leading up to it?

Sure, this year, South Korea’s political scene saw intense conflict between the rival parties in the National Assembly.
It all started after the April general election, where the pan-opposition, including the main opposition Democratic Party, secured 192 of 300 seats, while the ruling People Power Party took 1-hundred-8 seats just enough to block constitutional amendments.
What followed were multiple cycles of the opposition passing contentious bills, the president vetoing them, and the bills ultimately being rejected after a revote.
Tensions escalated further over next year’s budget when the DP pushed through a downsized version in the National Assembly Budget Committee, causing a boycott by the PPP.
Then came President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law.
Let’s first take a look at what happened over those 12 days, from the martial law declaration to the passage of the presidential impeachment motion.

This was the first declaration of emergency martial law in South Korea since 1979.

At 10:23 PM on December 3rd, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law citing “pro-North Korea” forces and “opponents of the state” paralyzing South Korean democracy.
This was followed by the military announcing a set of measures, including the suspension of political gatherings that could stir social confusion.

Troops were sent to both the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, leading to a clash between the military trying to enter and people trying to block them.

Lawmakers worked swiftly to block the martial law decree in the hours following Yoon’s declaration, with 190 of the 300 members of parliament voting to overturn the measure at around 1 AM.

“According to the decision of the National Assembly, the president must immediately lift the emergency martial law. The martial law order is now void.”

President Yoon then declared an end to martial law at 4:30 AM, followed by the Cabinet passing a motion to lift it, six hours after Yoon ordered the decree.

The same day, six pan-opposition parties jointly submitted a motion to impeach Yoon for declaring martial law that “does not meet the criteria for one, as outlined by the Constitution.”

The first big day arrived.
On December 7th, all 192 opposition lawmakers cast their ballots on Yoon’s impeachment motion.

However, with all but three lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party boycotting the vote, the impeachment motion was scrapped as it failed to meet the quorum of 200 votes.
After the vote, the main opposition Democratic Party vowed to push for Yoon’s impeachment every week.

“We will hold Yoon Suk Yeol accountable for insurrection and military rebellion and ensure his impeachment. We won’t give up.”

Three days later, the Assembly passed an opposition-led bill to appoint a standing special counsel to investigate President Yoon and his close aides over the December 3rd declaration of martial law and charges of insurrection.

Six pan-opposition parties at the National Assembly jointly introduced their second impeachment motion for President Yoon.
Meanwhile, ahead of the second impeachment vote against Yoon, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon called for the president to be suspended from his duties as soon as possible.

Another pivotal day where the political futures of President Yoon and South Korea hung in the balance.
On December 14th, lawmakers gathered at a plenary session to vote on the second impeachment motion against Yoon.
Unlike the first vote, which was dropped due to insufficient participation, all 300 lawmakers took part this time.
This came as the PPP decided to participate, while adopting a party consensus against impeachment.

“I hereby declare that the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol has been passed.”

The motion passed with 204 votes in favor, 85 against, three abstentions, and eight invalid votes, meeting the required two-thirds majority, marking the third passage of an impeachment motion of a sitting president in South Korea’s history.

“Now that the impeachment motion has passed, it’s up to the Constitutional Court. We hope for a fair decision based on the Constitution and the law.”

Following the passage of the motion, Yoon was suspended from his duties, leaving his fate in the hands of the Constitutional Court.

Then what has been done so far, and what controversies have arisen?

Well, it’s been over two weeks since the impeachment motion passed.
Last Friday, the Constitutional Court held its first preparatory hearing on President Yoon’s impeachment, a session to outline a roadmap for the trial, with representatives from both the National Assembly and the president present.

The justices outlined four rough reasons for impeachment, which included Yoon’s declaration of martial law, the proclamation of the martial law order, the lockdown of the National Assembly and the disruption of parliamentary activities, and the attempted search and seizure at the National Election Commission.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for President Yoon, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest.
This comes after the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials requested an arrest warrant after three failed attempts to summon President Yoon for questioning.
The request cited two allegations against Yoon: leading an insurrection and abusing authority to obstruct others from exercising their rights.
However, Yoon’s legal representatives said the court issuing an arrest warrant is in fact illegal and invalid.

Meanwhile, following the passage of the impeachment motion, the rival parties have been clashing over the prospects of filling Constitutional Court vacancies the opposition pushing to fill the seats, while the ruling party objects, arguing that nominees, even if confirmed by the Assembly, cannot be appointed by an acting president.
This led to the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who had been acting president, for delaying the appointment of the justices.
Just one judge is needed to reject the impeachment under the current six-member court.
But if three new judges are appointed in time to review and rule, it will take four judges to dismiss the motion.
On Tuesday, Acting President Choi Sang-mok approved the appointment of two judges, emphasizing South Korea’s financial and social challenges amid President Yoon’s impeachment trial and criminal investigations.
So this is also a key factor to watch, as it could significantly impact the pace and outcome of the trial.

Could you briefly give us a preview of what’s ahead next year regarding the impeachment trial?

Sure, the Constitutional Court is scheduled to hold its second preparatory hearing for the impeachment trial on January 3rd at 2 PM.
The court must rule within 180 days of receiving the case, meaning the deadline is June 12th next year.
Experts expect a ruling before April 18th, when two Constitutional Court judges retire.
If the impeachment is upheld, an early presidential election will be held within 60 days, possibly in the first half of next year.
So I’ll make sure to keep track of all these major issues in 2025 as well.

Thanks for the wrap-up today, Ha-young.

My pleasure.

Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279517
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