South Korean President Removed From Office
Do you know what Martial law means? Martial law is when the military temporarily takes over the government and suspends ordinary laws. This may happen during times of crisis or national emergency, when the government is unable to maintain order. In December 2024, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to impose martial law on his county. His effort lasted only six hours, and he was later impeached for it. Last week, he was officially removed from office, making him the shortest-serving president in the country’s history.
Who is Yoon Suk Yeol?
Yoon is a former prosecutor who led the impeachment charge against President Park Geun-hye in 2017. Park was sentenced to prison for corruption and abuse of power. Yoon took office in 2022. He was a popular leader and considered to be a strong ally by the Biden administration. But Yoon’s opponents gained more political power during the midterm elections. This weakened President Yoon’s influence and caused gridlock within the South Korean parliament. (Gridlock is a political term that describes the inability of political parties to work together to pass laws.)
What Happened?
Late at night on December 3, 2024, in response to this problem, Yoon declared martial law and sent armed troops to surround parliament. There was no national emergency or immediately pressing reason to do so. Angry crowds filled the streets as determined lawmakers literally pushed past soldiers and jumped over the parliament gates to get inside. Finally, by midnight, enough of them had gathered to permit a vote to overturn Yoon’s declaration and end martial law. At dawn, Yoon reversed his decision. He later said that he had only intended to send a warning to the liberal lawmakers who opposed him.
In January 2025, Yoon was arrested on separate criminal charges of leading an insurrection. If found guilty, the punishment is life in prison or the death penalty. In March, his arrest warrant was cancelled by the court, but the charges were not dropped, and he will still have to stand trial.
Despite his actions and the charges brought against him, South Korea has been deeply divided over whether to remove Yoon from office. There have been demonstrations in the streets both opposing Yoon and supporting him. Although the South Korean public is divided in their opinion, all eight justices of the nation’s Constitutional Court unanimously agreed to remove him from office.
What Will Happen Next?
Yoon’s dismissal was effective immediately. He left the presidential residence and moved back to his private home. Hundreds of his cheering supporters lined the streets as a motorcade transported Yoon and his wife between the two buildings. According to South Korean law, a new election must be held within sixty days to replace him. The “snap election” will take place on June 3. In the meantime, acting president Han Duck-soo will lead the nation’s government until the election can take place. It’s expected that as many as twenty candidates will campaign to replace Yoon as the conservative People Power Party candidate. The populist liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung is also running. He is the leader of the opposition party, and he challenged Yoon in the 2022 presidential election before losing by a narrow margin. So far, Lee is the clear frontrunner. If elected, he has promised to move past the country’s political polarization and improve South Korea’s economic growth by focusing on science and technology.