The government and the opposition have been calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down from office for weeks, with accusations that the president had handled numerous scandals and mismanaged crucial policies. The government’s attempted military law declaration on Tuesday, the latest and most glaring of his feints, added fuel to the flames. On Wednesday, six opposition parties introduced articles of impeachment against Yoon for alleged rebellion, with a political vote expected at 5 PM on Saturday, December 7.
Lee Jae-Myung, head of the main opposition Democratic Party, when reluctant to fully embrace Yoon’s resignation for fear of failure, is now actively demanding the government’s treatment. Those looking for an indictable act involving the use of a smoking gun appear to have discovered it. Yoon, through either folly or misunderstanding, has provided impeachment-seekers with stronger utilize to create their event. Before Tuesday, if anyone was on the fence about Yoon, that border was blown over by the social gasp at his crazy and authoritarian behavior.
Impeachment needs ruling-party vote
To be sure, some hurdles lie back. Yoon’s party’s leadership is essentially united, rejecting any efforts to remove him from office. At least eight PPP lawmakers may be persuaded to complete the articles given the current political climate.
Even if the action is approved by parliament, the Constitutional Court would need to accept the current six-member panel and agree to hear the case universally. That is a challenging task. Democratic illiteracy is no constitutional in its own right. Nor is the work of declaring martial law, which is completely within the government’s jurisdiction.
But assuming Yoon lives, the underlying truth will only deteriorate. Even in historically conservative strongholds, his approval rating is still below 20 %. The common motion seeking Yoon’s impeachment or resignation, which began as early as August 2022, is just poised to grow and enhance. According to a new poll, tenth of the population in Korea supports the president’s removal.
Yoon’s declare that Lee and his opposition group are affecting legislative processes with majority rule will no longer have the same impact as it once did. If anything, the senator has widened the gap between the legislative and executive branches.
As potential opponents of the president’s unique party idea their weapons, inner conflicts are expected to worsen. ” If President Yoon does not reveal his plan to step down before voting tomorrow”, senior PPP legislator Ahn Cheol-soo said on Friday,” I have no choice but to help prosecution”.
Now on Tuesday, Han Dong-hoon, again regarded as Yoon’s lieutenant, strongly opposed the military law charter, labeling it a error. What was once referred to as a Yoon-Han gang is then a thing of the past. On Wednesday, 18 legislators who shared the pro-Han faction’s position cast a ballot to change Yoon’s order. Han has requested that the president left his own political party and stated that Yoon needs to be immediately removed from power.
It’s also uncertain how many sympathizers will come from the ruling group.
Finally, there is the international dimensions to the latest event. European leaders and officials have canceled their travel to South Korea while martial law has been repealed, and various nations have issued travel warnings. The Nuclear Consultative Group’s gathering and table practice with its rivals in Seoul have been indefinitely postponed by the US Department of Defense. Additionally, the condition precludes Shigeru Ishiba’s possible trip to South Korea in the coming month. On Wednesday, Ishiba stated that the government is monitoring advances with “particular and burial” problem.
According to experts, local instability could compromise South Korea’s reputation as a pillar of liberal democracy on the global stage as well as the validity of its multilateral pact with Tokyo and Washington, which is unfortunately Yoon’s signature accomplishment. This crisis also occurs at the most inappropriate moment as North Korea and Russia improve their military ties and attempt to disturb global norms.
Leading up to this year’s unrest, the gap between the DP and Yoon, now strained by his group’s electoral defeat in April, widened. The opposition group vetoed bills consistently after the leader vetoed them, which evidently caused trouble for the ruling party. The conflict grew worse just when the DP moved to reduce the federal expenditure, which could destroy Yoon’s most important policies, and filed motions to remove three sitting prosecutors and a deputy state auditor. Some of these lawyers were involved in continued inquiries into DP chief Lee, which created a source of conflict.
Nevertheless, all of this, at its core, is a social problem—one that can and should be resolved through political methods. By dispatching the army without considering all other options, Yoon largely chose a dead-end route. It may be too little, too late, with the senator making agreements with the opposition or making radical new case appointments to lessen the damage. A return to politics at the firing of a gun, a phenomenon South Korea hasn’t seen in decades since the start of its attractive democracy, will remain etched in the memory of the populace for a long time.
Country however reeling
Time after Yoon’s stunning declaration left the nation in tumult, South Korea is also reeling. Although the attempt was quickly overturned after 190 politicians cast a ballot against it, the agonizing six hours of chaos are still vivid in your mind. Moments after Yoon’s televised address and the declaration of martial law, planes flew through Seoul as soldiers and officers gathered at the National Assembly. Arrests were reportedly attempted against several politicians, including Chairman Han Dong-hoon of Yoon’s own ruling People Power Party. According to one pundit,” It was like a scene from a blockbuster movie.”
Yoon’s rationale for issuing the decree only added to the confusion. In his address, he accused the opposition party of engaging in “anti-state” activities” and justified the measure , to” eradicate pro-North Korean forces” and safeguard the” constitutional order of freedom. ” Whatever the merit of these justifications, it became the shortest-lived martial law in the nation’s history, serving no discernible purpose.
Why, then, did Yoon make such a risky decision politically? For now, speculation outweighs concrete answers. Some claim it was a shock-and-awe tactic to regain control of his political standing, while others see it as a diversionary plot to divert voters ‘ attention away from Yoon’s growing scandals. But regardless of precise motives, one thing seems clear: Yoon has effectively expedited his political downfall. Even if he completes his remaining two-and-a-half years in office he is bound to limp through, not as a lame duck, but as a dead duck.
Kenji Yoshida works for JAPAN Forward as a translator and correspondent in Seoul.
Reitaku University associate professor and historian Jason Morgan.