From protesting in the streets to defending democratic norms, South Koreans endured a political storm that began with martial law and ended with a vote
For the second time in a decade, South Korea held an early presidential election to fill a leadership void following the impeachment of a sitting president. And once again, the vote comes on the heels of months of political turmoil that shook the country‘s young and vibrant democracy to its core.
But this time, the crisis ran even deeper. What began with a failed self-coup escalated into a riot at a courthouse, conspiracy theories about election fraud, and a political climate more divided than at any point in recent memory.
On Tuesday, just two months after President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office by the Constitutional Court, South Koreans went to the polls in a snap presidential election. Lee Jae-myung has been confirmed as the country’s next president, marking a dramatic political comeback for the opposition leader who lost to Yoon just three years earlier.
The beginning of Yoon Suk Yeol‘s downfall
It all began on a December night.
At around 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, President Yoon Suk Yeol made an unexpected appearance on national television, announcing that he was placing the country under martial law.
He accused the opposition-controlled National Assembly of plotting to destroy the state and described them as “anti-state forces” working with “North Korean communists.” Yoon also ordered the suspension of the legislature, the press, and allegedly instructed authorities to detain political rivals and judges.
For many in South Korea, especially those who remember the authoritarian era before the 1987 democratic reforms, the announcement was deeply alarming. Military units attempted to block lawmakers from entering the National Assembly, prompting widespread fears of a coup.
But the institutional response was swift. Within hours, nearly two-thirds of legislators convened in the National Assembly chamber despite military interference and voted to nullify the martial law declaration. Public outrage followed. Mass street demonstrations erupted, demanding Yoon’s resignation.
Though Yoon formally revoked the decree a few hours later, the damage had already been done. Lawmakers began impeachment proceedings. After an initial failed attempt due to a boycott by Yoon’s People Power Party, a second vote on Dec. 14 passed with support from the opposition and even a dozen ruling party lawmakers. Yoon was suspended from office that evening.
A head of state in custody
In the weeks that followed, South Korea entered legally and politically uncharted territory. For the first time in its modern history, a sitting president was detained by law enforcement.
Yoon resisted arrest at first, leading to a standoff with presidential bodyguards. On Jan. 15, he was taken into custody. Days later, on Jan. 19, the Seoul Western District Court approved an arrest warrant for charges including insurrection. On the night the warrant was issued, hundreds of Yoon‘s supporters stormed the courthouse, breaking windows, setting off fire extinguishers and searching for the judge who issued the ruling. The riot lasted three hours and left several officers injured.
Ultimately, prosecutors indicted Yoon for attempting to violently overturn the constitutional order. He was released after 52 days in detention but remained under investigation.
The court’s verdict: ‘Serious violations of the Constitution’
The Constitutional Court began impeachment proceedings immediately following the impeachment vote. At the heart of the case was whether Yoon’s actions on Dec. 3 had crossed a line from political misjudgment into a deliberate attempt to bypass democratic rule.
In a unanimous ruling on April 4, the court said that Yoon had declared martial law without meeting any of the legal or constitutional requirements. He bypassed his Cabinet, failed to notify the National Assembly and deployed military forces to obstruct lawmakers. He had also, according to the court, illegally ordered the arrest of sitting judges and political opponents.
The ruling removed Yoon from office immediately. Under South Korean law, this triggered a requirement for a new presidential election to be held within 60 days.
The election campaign: Lee Jae-myung emerges as front-runner
Just days after Yoon’s removal, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former governor of Gyeonggi Province and leader of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, announced his candidacy. Lee narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon and had become a central figure in leading the political and public resistance to martial law.
He was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party on April 27.
Despite holding a commanding lead in the opinion polls among potential presidential candidates, Lee‘s main obstacle was his own legal troubles, some serious enough to threaten his eligibility to run for public office.
Chief among them was the Supreme Court’s expedited decision on May 1 to order a retrial on his election law violation charges, overturning a lower court‘s ruling that had acquitted him. However, this potential setback was averted when the lower court, along with other courts handling Lee’s cases, decided to postpone Lee‘s trial proceedings until after the presidential election.
The conservative People Power Party, battered by the fallout from Yoon’s impeachment, faced internal turmoil in choosing a candidate. After a contested primary and a failed attempt to replace the primary winner, the party ultimately nominated Kim Moon-soo, a former labor activist-turned-conservative politician.
Kim campaigned on restoring democratic stability but struggled to completely shake off associations with Yoon, even after publicly criticizing the former president’s decision to declare martial law.
A third major candidate, Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, gained support among younger voters, especially after standing firm against calls from the People Power Party to unify behind Kim. His rising popularity did cut into the conservative base, but it was not enough to fundamentally change the race.
A rapid transition, and unresolved divisions
Because the early election was triggered by the early removal of a president, once the National Election Commission confirms the results, the new president will take office immediately.
This marks the second time in eight years that South Korea has removed a president and held an emergency election, following the 2017 impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. But unlike Park’s case, which involved a personal corruption scandal, the crisis surrounding Yoon has raised deeper concerns about the abuse of executive power and the resilience of Korea’s democratic safeguards.
It also leaves a sharply divided electorate. While the Constitutional Court’s ruling was widely accepted by the public, a vocal minority continues to protest Yoon’s removal. Some of his supporters have used rhetoric and symbols associated with far-right movements in the US, including “Stop the Steal” slogans.
Yet despite the polarization, South Korea has chosen its next president. President-elect Lee Jae-myung will take office immediately as required by law in snap elections.
Lee inherits a nation still reeling from months of political crisis and facing deep divisions. He has pledged to restore stability, rebuild public trust, and address economic challenges, but uniting the country may prove his hardest task.
mjh@heraldcorp.com
