South Korea awoke on Wednesday to a flurry of resignations of senior presidential staff, a united opposition filing an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, and a confused ruling party demanding answers from Yoon after his failed attempt to impose martial law on Tuesday night.
Yoon, an unpopular conservative narrowly elected in a bitterly fought election in 2022, declared martial law on television on Tuesday night – a widely unexpected move that shocked the nation and international observers. Yoon argued that legislative obstruction by the opposition Democratic Party had turned the National Assembly into a “den of criminals” and necessitated military action.
“I declare martial law to protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces,” Yoon announced, “to immediately eradicate the unscrupulous pro-Pyongyang antistate forces that pillage the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect free constitutional order.”
The Democratic Party-controlled National Assembly rapidly sprung into action, flooding into legislative chambers while blocking heavily armed soldiers, under martial law, political assemblies were illegal. The Democrats have controlled the Assembly since April, when they won regional elections against the conservatives in a landslide on the back of Yoon’s massive unpopularity.
At around 1 a.m. local time, the Assembly voted unanimously against martial law. Shortly thereafter, Yoon announced he had lifted the martial law declaration.
At press time, Yoon has not explained his decision to impose martial law or his decision to withdraw the dramatic measure. Aides postponed Yoon’s first scheduled public appearances on Wednesday, leaving unclear when he would address the country next.
In Yoon’s absence, the Democrats and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) – Yoon’s own party – are demanding answers. The Democrats announced early on Wednesday they would pursue the president’s impeachment and removal as soon as possible. They formally filed an impeachment motion later on Wednesday alongside five other minority parties.
“Yoon’s declaration of martial law is a clear violation of the Constitution,” the Democrats wrote in a resolution seeking his impeachment, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. “This is a serious act of rebellion and a perfect reason for impeachment.”
Lawmakers now have 24 to 72 hours to vote on whether to oust the president. Notably, no PPP lawmakers supported the impeachment motion, though the head of the party expressed exasperation with the martial law decree on Tuesday. According to Yonhap, given the current makeup of the Assembly, eight PPP lawmakers would have to defect to give the motion the two-thirds majority it requires to remove Yoon.
Lee Jae-myung, the head of the Democratic Party and the candidate Yoon defeated in the 2022 presidential race, urged the military to ignore the martial law declaration on late Tuesday, issuing a statement announcing, “from this moment, Yoon Suk Yeol is no longer the president of the Republic of Korea.”
Lee was among the assemblymen who broke into legislative chambers as the military surrounded them. He livestreamed himself on Youtube climbing over the fences and climbing the walls around the National Assembly to break in.
Lee has endured a tumultuous year that began with an assailant stabbing him in the neck; multiple members of his party threatened to defect from the Democrats as he recovered in the hospital after he faced bribery and other corruption charges last year.
The Democratic Party controls the National Assembly but appears to have support from other minority parties. The head of the smaller Rebuilding Korea Party Hwang Un-ha, for example, declared Yoon guilty of “treason.”
“The president committed an act tantamount to treason by mobilizing the military,” Hwang said, according to the Korea Herald. “It is clear that he cannot remain in office even for a moment longer. Therefore, we must urgently pass an impeachment motion.”
The newspaper noted that, in South Korea, lawmakers must vote on an impeachment motion within 24 to 72 hours after it arrives.
Yoon also faces outrage and confusion within his own PPP. Party chairman Han Dong-hoon was among the first to condemn the martial law declaration on Tuesday night, asserting it was “wrong” and the party would stand “alongside the people” against it. On Wednesday, Han issued an apology on behalf of the party and demanded an explanation from Yoon, as well as the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who reportedly recommended imposing martial law.
“As the ruling party, we feel deeply apologetic to the public for today’s disastrous situation,” Han said at a press conference on Wednesday. “President Yoon should directly explain the disastrous situation and hold those responsible strictly accountable, including the immediate dismissal of the defense minister who proposed the martial law.”
While not appearing in public yet at press time, Yoon did meet Han and other leaders of his own party, presumably to explain his thought process on the martial law imposition on Tuesday.
The conservative-leaning Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources, that Yoon called a meeting of his State Council to discuss the possibility of imposing martial law, but most of his senior advisers rejected the idea. “the president’s thoughts … were so firm that no one could break through,” an anonymous State Council member told Chosun.
Another South Korean newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, offered a similar account on Wednesday, stating its sources said that Yoon is facing pressure to fire Kim from within as well as the public declarations from PPP leadership.
Yonhap reported on Wednesday that several of Yoon’s senior aides offered their resignations, listing among them “Chung Jin-suk, the presidential chief of staff; National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik; and Sung Tae-yoon, chief of staff for policy, as well as seven other senior aides.” It is not clear at press time if Yoon accepted their resignations.