Citizens of the Republic of Korea, more commonly referred to as South Korea, experienced a chaotic couple of days this week as South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declared the imposition of martial law… and then repealed it hours later.
Let’s break down what happened:
The imposition of martial law –
Martial law was imposed by Yoon late Tuesday evening in an effort to supposedly suppress anti-state activity committed by opposition parties.
This implementation of martial law was particularly directed towards the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a liberal political party that has maintained control of the South Korean National Assembly since Yoon’s election in 2022.
Yoon’s actions come after DPK legislators pushed for a budget cut of more than 4 trillion won, or approximately $2.8 billion USD, to the proposed 2025 budget bill backed by the Yoon administration.
This budget cut would have profound impacts on the money allocated for special activity expenses of the police, prosecution, state audit agency, national security office, and the secretariat of the presidential office. In addition, it would also cut the government’s reserve fund in half, going from 4.8 trillion won to 2.4 trillion won.
Yoon stated that these budget cuts would significantly impair essential government functioning and administration, going on to claim that the East Asian nation’s Parliament, controlled by the DPK, had “become a den for criminals… [and] has paralyzed the administrative and legal systems [of the South Korean government]… and is attempting to overthrow our democratic system.”
As a result of these factors, and many others, Yoon announced the imposing of martial law throughout the nation. Essentially, martial law would require the suspension of all parliamentary and political activity, while also allowing warrantless arrests. In addition, it also forbids the manipulation of “public opinion”, the publishing of “fake news”, and “denying free democracy or attempting a subversion”.
The removal of martial law –
Soon after martial law was announced in the country, the South Korean parliament gathered to vote on the removal of martial law, surrounded by South Korean military personnel and police.
The vote ultimately resulted in a 190-0 vote in favor of repealing martial law, which Yoon conceded (as he is legally bound to), declaring the removal of martial law at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, a decision that was shortly approved by his Cabinet.
In the aftermath of the martial law debacle, opposition parties and lawmakers began to call for Yoon’s resignation, threatening to begin impeachment proceedings, if he failed to comply. The incident also sowed disunion among Yoon’s own party, as the head of the party formally apologized and demanded a justification from the president.
Additionally, the incident had profound economic impacts, most especially at a global scale. South Korea-based stocks plummeted, and then rapidly rose back up as the president overturned his martial law declaration, unpredictably fluctuating. In addition, trading volume of some stocks, including the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, proved to be extremely high – and continue to do so – with more than 35 million shares of the ETF traded on Tuesday alone – 10 times the stock’s usual 30-day volume.
Looking forward –
As South Korea grapples with the ramifications of the implementation and rapid repealment of martial law at both a political and economic level, it is vital to keep in mind the highly politically polarized nature of the issue that first catalyzed the institution of martial law.
Despite the widely different political situations in South Korea, America, or whatever other nation, political polarization is a problem that affects us all and one that can – and has – crippled governments across the globe, preventing them from taking much needed action.
As we look forward into 2025, it is crucial that we continue to reflect on the destructive nature of political polarization and divisiveness – much like what South Koreans faced between the DPK and Yoon – and aim to forge bipartisan laws and policies, ones that we can all agree on – or at least make peace with – lest we risk yet another political tussle like the one experienced by the Republic of Korea.
