By Anwar A. Khan
It was also not a dark red or blackish sweet cherry!
In a dramatic turn of events in South Korean politics, President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly placed the nation under martial law on December 3, 2024, only to revoke it shortly afterward. This marked the first invocation of such emergency powers by a South Korean leader since 1979. Though fleeting, the move sparked widespread concern about the potential erosion of democratic governance and a return to authoritarian tendencies.
On December 3, 2024, rumors began circulating among journalists that Yoon was planning to hold an emergency press conference. During the event, he delivered a brief but impactful speech, accusing certain pro-North Korean and anti-state elements within South Korea of attempting to destabilize the nation. His remarks appeared to target opposition parties that had been obstructing his policies and seeking to impeach some of his appointees.
Yoon declared the situation intolerable, stating that it was impossible for him to govern effectively under such conditions. Consequently, he announced the imposition of emergency martial law, claiming it was necessary to safeguard the nation from these destabilizing forces.
Following the announcement, the Minister of Defense convened a meeting with key military leaders to establish a martial law headquarters. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su was appointed as the martial law commander.
A martial law proclamation was then issued stating that all political activities were now banned – including the work of the South Korean parliament. This all took place within around one hour of Yoon’s declaration.
Despite the proclamation, legislators headed to the National Assembly, where some were blocked from entering. But many did get in, and, at around 1 a.m. local time on 3 December 2024, legislators voted against the martial law – in effect forcing Yoon to repeal his declaration.
He did this but not for another three and a half hours, during which the situation was very tense. He relented at around 4.30 a.m., held another press conference and announced that he was lifting the emergency measure. He then made an embarrassing backward somersault within six hours after both his own and opposition parties forced their way into parliament to vote against his decree.
He presides over a divided party, a gridlocked parliament and a population in which he has become very unpopular.
For many, it is regarded as a foolish move – he was in such a weak position politically, it would have seemed unlikely that this tactic would succeed. But he and some of the plotters must have calculated politically that this tactic would give them a chance to gain support from his core base. The real puzzle is what drove him to make that political calculation.
A large crowd of soldiers wearing camouflage and helmets push up against a crowd of civilians. Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul on December 4, 2024, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law.
People certainly have aired concern over his autocratic tendencies. Even before this martial law incident, some of his decisions have prompted concerns. He has ignored legal procedures and tried to circumvent the National Assembly. He has certainly shown an illiberal streak at home, attacking the media as “fake news” while smearing opponents as communists and North Korean sympathizers.
But that’s not always the way he is perceived in the West. Since the Russian invasion, there have been attempts by foreign policy types to divide the world into two blocs – a liberal one and an illiberal one. Yoon, as a key ally to the U.S., is framed in Washington as a defender of democracy. At home, however, it’s a different story.
With the declaration of martial law, his authoritarian tendencies have been amped up for the world to see, and it’s difficult to imagine that won’t be part of his legacy. But even before this decision, he was known for being authoritarian.
South Korea has a long history with martial law and autocratic, even military, rule.
This latest declaration of martial law is by some counts the 17th instance in Korean history. The last time it was declared was in 1979 following the assassination of Park Chung-hee, a dictator who ruled South Korea during the 1960s and 1970s. That period of martial law lasted until 1981, during which Chun Doo-hwan, another dictator, came to power through a coup and perpetrated a massacre in Gwangju.
Martial law hasn’t been declared since the 1980s, but certainly many older Korean people can still remember that occasion, when troops brutally cracked down on protesters. But since becoming a democracy in 1987, there hadn’t been a declaration of martial law until now.
Interestingly, in a straw poll of my family, age factored into the response to Yoon’s move. Older family members very much feared the declaration of martial law. For younger family members and friends, it was met not as a joke, but certainly as a foolish move that wouldn’t actually result in a prolonged period of martial law.
My guess would be President Yoon’s days are numbered and that this episode will hasten his political demise.
Before the events of December 3, 2024 there were still many people in the parliament and the public at large resistant to the idea of another impeachment following the last one in 2016. But there appears to be a groundswell of opinion in the parliament that the president should be removed, and it is echoed by the public.
The main opposition, the Democratic Party, and five other parties submitted a motion on 4 December 2024, calling for Yoon’s impeachment. This is the first time a president has used his emergency powers since South Korea’s military dictatorship fell in the late 1980s.
Analysts described the move, apparently designed to “rally” right-wing forces behind him, as an “act of desperation” from an “isolated and impulsive” leader “boxed in” by a slowing economy, sliding approval ratings, scandals and an opposition-controlled parliament, say Christian Davies and Song Jung-a in the Financial Times.
A shock declaration of martial law in South Korea was swiftly put down, but it exposed the nation’s vulnerable democracy. What happens now?
The question, which has dogged Yoon through a series of moves by the opposition to end his presidency, will be highlighted, when parliament seems likely to make a second attempt at his impeachment.
The last week has seen political chaos and huge protests by angry South Koreans against Yoon. After his baffling, dark-of-night martial law edict on December 3, 2024 the first in more than 40 years, throngs of lawmakers and nearly 300 heavily armed soldiers rushed to the parliament ahead of a predawn vote that reversed it after only six hours.
As lawmakers debate impeachment, deepening investigations into Yoon’s decree have been accompanied by detentions of high-level officials.
The opposition has labeled Yoon’s short-lived martial law declaration an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” But with 192 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, it needs support from at least eight members of the president’s conservative governing party to get the two-thirds majority required to pass an impeachment motion.
Yoon, in a speech on 12 December 2024 that seemed designed to influence supporters in parliament, defended his martial law decree as an act of governance, not rebellion. He vowed to “fight to the end” in the face of impeachment attempts and intensifying investigations into the decree.
The main liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, announced plans to submit a new impeachment motion against President Yoon on December 12, 2024, aiming for a parliamentary vote by the weekend.
If the motion succeeds and Yoon is impeached, he would be suspended from office until the Constitutional Court decides whether to permanently remove him. In the interim, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the government’s second-in-command, would assume presidential responsibilities.
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Seoul, demanding Yoon’s removal. Autoworkers and other members of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, one of the nation’s largest labor organizations, have launched hourly strikes, intensifying public unrest.
Historically, during the authoritarian regimes that followed South Korea’s recovery from the 1950–53 Korean War, leaders occasionally declared martial law, deploying soldiers, tanks, and armored vehicles to suppress anti-government protests.
The push to impeach Yoon reflects South Korea’s tradition of “revenge politics,” where misconduct is often met with aggressive legal actions. According to The Economist, such cycles are “all too common.” Gi-Wook Shin, a Stanford professor, told the Financial Times that the week’s events highlight both the “vulnerabilities and resilience” of South Korea’s democracy. They reveal systemic issues such as “polarization, potential executive overreach, and weakened public trust,” but also underscore the nation’s robust institutional checks and active civic participation, as demonstrated by the swift parliamentary and public responses.
Author is a freedom fighter who writes on politics and international issues.
