The short-lived martial law decree of the President Yoon Suk Yeol created South Korea’s biggest constitutional crisis since the country democratized in the late 1980s.
On December 14, Yoon, a deeply unpopular leader, was impeached by the National Assembly, becoming the third South Korean president to be suspended from power through such a vote. But uncertainty over the country’s political future has only deepened since then.
In addition to his impeachment, Yoon faces a criminal inquiry, the first to target a sitting South Korean president. Here is how the crisis unfolded:
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Why was Yoon impeached?
Yoon’s martial law decree on December 3 placed the country under military rule for the first time in 45 years and lasted just six hours. But it has thrown South Korea’s democracy into chaos and drawn public outrage, recalling the country’s painful history of military dictatorship decades ago.
In the impeachment project, the Opposition lawmakers argued that Yoon had perpetrated an insurrection when he declared martial law and sent troops to the National Assembly. They said it was an attempt to prevent lawmakers from voting against the decree, as was their right under the constitution.
An initial impeachment vote on Dec. 7 failed after lawmakers from Yoon’s People Power Party boycotted it, saying he should be given the chance to resign. A week later, 12 lawmakers from Yoon’s party joined the opposition to impeach him, sealing his fate.
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Yoon’s future is in the hands of the Constitutional Court, which will decide within the next six months whether to reinstate or formally remove him.
Who’s in charge now?
The country’s opposition parties, which dominate the National Assembly, have impeached Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has served as acting president since Yoon’s impeachment, in a deadlock over the appointment of judges. Choi Sang-mok, the Minister of Finance, was named the new interim president.
The December 27 parliamentary vote on Han was the first time in South Korean history that a .
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Like Han, Choi is not an elected official. He is leading South Korea without any real political weightas the country faces challenges such as the growing nuclear threat from North Korea and Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Yoon, in turn,.
In a speech released shortly after his impeachment, Yoon listed what he considered his accomplishments as president, including his efforts to strengthen military ties with the United States and Japan. Now, his efforts have been paused, he said. “But I will never give up.”
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The court will decide within 180 days whether Yoon is guilty of the crimes the National Assembly accused him of and, if so, whether they are serious enough to merit removal. If the court formally removes him, South Korea must elect a new leader within two months.
Why did Yoon do this?
Yoon said he declared martial law out of “desperation” in the face of an opposition that used its parliamentary majority to “paralyze” his government. Yoon criticized the opposition for cutting some of his government’s budgets planned for next year, as well as its frequent attempts to impeach political appointees.
But such complaints cannot be a reason to declare martial law, said Kim Young Hoon, head of the Korean Bar Association, to The New York Times. Yoon also did not immediately notify the National Assembly of his declaration of martial law as required by law, according to the assembly.
“It is clear that President Yoon’s declaration of martial law did not meet the requirements set by the constitution,” Kim said.
Cho Ji-ho, head of the National Police Agency, told the assembly on December 9 that when martial law was briefly implemented, the military asked the police to help locate and detain 15 people, including the leaders of the largest political parties.
Even during martial law, however, the president does not have the right to detain lawmakers unless they are caught committing a crime.
What are the criminal charges against the president?
Yoon has been banned from leaving the country while police and prosecutors investigate whether he and his supporters in the government and military committed insurrection when they sent armed troops to the National Assembly.
Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, who led a special forces unit that was sent to the assembly, said he was ordered to forcibly remove lawmakers to prevent 150 of them – the number needed to repeal martial law – from meeting.
South Korean criminal law defines insurrection as any attempt to “overthrow government bodies established by the constitution or make it impossible to exercise their functions by force.”
If Yoon is convicted of insurrection and the court rules that he was the leader, The conviction may be the death penalty or life imprisonment. Prosecutors arrested his former defense minister and two former police chiefs on charges of helping carry out the insurrection.
Originally published no The New York Times.
