Snap Insight: South Korea President Yoon’s martial law attempt was an inept semi-coup

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BUSAN, South Korea: Late on Tuesday night (Dec 3), South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law. This was an enormous shock, a radical step no one in the government had mentioned or discussed at all. Much of the public’s initial response was disbelief and confusion.

Even when North Korea launched dangerous attacks on South Korea – such as in 2010, when it sank a South Korean warship and killed 46 sailors – civilian rule was retained. The last time soldiers patrolled South Korea’s streets was back in the 1980s, when the country was a military dictatorship.

Yet, it appears that Mr Yoon took this step for absurd reasons when there was no national security crisis. Instead, he was apparently frustrated that the opposition-dominated parliament sought to impeach his appointees, block his budget and investigate his wife. The reasoning is still vague; Mr Yoon’s motives may be clearer in the coming days.

SOUTH KOREA’S TRADITION OF STREET PROTEST

Martial law in response to the rather typical frustrations of divided government is such an extreme overreaction that Mr Yoon’s action felt like a coup. That Mr Yoon announced it late at night fuelled public perceptions that this was a power grab, not a legitimate national emergency.

South Korea has a long tradition of street protest. Citizens protested vigorously for their democratic rights in the 1980s and eventually pushed out the dictator of the time.

It is remarkable that Mr Yoon thought he could halt constitutional government without provoking a massive national backlash. That too may be a reason why Mr Yoon declared martial law so late at night. He was probably trying to get the military out on the streets before people realised what was happening.

This failed. The country mobilised in response. Although the declaration banned political activities, citizens and the opposition ignored that and descended on the parliament building. Police and protestors clashed; the military landed helicopters outside the legislature.

No one was hurt, but it looked somewhat like a coup – perhaps the South Korean version of the Jan 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol incited by then president Donald Trump.

AN INEPT COUP

But if it was a coup, it was a remarkably inept one. Mr Yoon did not appear to have lined up much support in the police or military. South Korean legislature managed to quickly convene despite the security services converging on the parliament building.

The entire body of legislators present – including from Mr Yoon’s own party – voted to revoke martial law. So just six hours after martial law was declared, it was lifted. The whole thing felt like a strange farce.

But the fallout will be severe. President Yoon is already facing enormous pressure to resign.

If he does not, he will almost certainly be impeached. South Korea has successfully and non-violently impeached a previous president. The template to remove Mr Yoon is there, and lawmakers will now view him as a threat to South Korean constitutionalism.

South Korea’s political stability and liberal political ideals are at stake, as its relationship with other liberal democracies. It would be surprising if he is still president at the end of the year.

Robert Kelly (@Robert_E_Kelly) is a professor of political science at Pusan National University.