South Korean President Impeached

January/February 2025
By Kelsey Davenport

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached after his short-lived declaration of martial law sparked protests across the country, and less than two weeks later, his acting successor was ousted as well.

The political crisis raised deep concerns about the stability of a key U.S. ally in the Pacific region where the United States is trying to manage security challenges with two nuclear-armed states, China and North Korea.

In a Dec. 3 announcement, Yoon said that martial law was necessary to counter “anti-state forces” seeking to “overthrow the liberal democratic system” by abusing legislative powers and cutting budgets. The forces included “pro-North [Korea]” factions, he said.

Yoon’s declaration banned all political activities and put the media under the control of Army Gen. Park An-su, whom Yoon named as martial law commander.

South Korea’s constitution allows the president to declare martial law to respond to a “military necessity” or to maintain public safety, but the backlash sparked by Yoon’s action suggests the majority of South Koreans did not believe his decision met those criteria.

Several hours after Yoon declared martial law, South Korea’s legislature, including members from Yoon’s People Power Party, voted to repeal the measure. The vote prompted Yoon to withdraw the declaration. He later apologized for the decision and committed not to impose martial law for the remainder of his term.

Despite that commitment and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun claiming responsibility for the crisis and resigning, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon.

The first impeachment vote on Dec. 7 failed after Yoon’s party boycotted the proceeding, but a second vote on Dec. 14 passed 204-85. The second motion to impeach Yoon removed language criticizing his foreign policy and accusing him of antagonizing North Korea. Twelve members of Yoon’s own party joined the opposition to vote in favor of impeachment. The South Korean Supreme Court has 180 days to restore Yoon to office or confirm his removal.

Yoon defended himself after the vote and rejected the allegation in the impeachment motion that he “committed rebellion” that harmed peace in South Korea. Yoon said on Dec. 14 that he acted to prevent “forces and criminal groups” from “paralyzing the country’s government” and “threatening the future” of South Korea.

The leader of the Democratic Party, which controls the majority of seats in the National Assembly, raised concerns that if left in power, Yoon may attempt to declare martial law again, despite his commitment not to do that. Lee Jae-myung told the Associated Press in a Dec. 6 interview that there is a “high possibility that [Yoon] could do totally incomprehensible things on security, defense, economy and foreign affairs issues.”

Evidence collected after Yoon’s impeachment raises questions about whether his administration attempted to provoke North Korean aggression in order to justify declaring martial law. A senior South Korean investigator told the National Assembly that a notebook found during the Dec. 15 arrest of Noh Sang-won, former chief of the Defense Intelligence Command, included details about the martial law declaration and references to “inducing a North Korean attack at the [Northern Limit Line],” the maritime boundary between North and South Korea. Other lawmakers accused members of the military’s Headquarters Intelligence Detachment of disguising themselves as North Korean soldiers to provoke chaos. The spokesperson for the South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff denied the allegations in a Jan. 2 press briefing, saying that “any suggestion that our military conducted operations to deliberately provoke North Korean aggression is completely false.”

After Yoon was impeached and suspended, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stepped in as acting president, but opposition lawmakers voted on Dec. 27 to impeach Han as well, citing his failure to take actions necessary to complete Yoon’s impeachment process.

Even prior to the decision to declare martial law, Yoon’s approval rating was consistently below 20 percent. He faced several political scandals, including criticism for blocking an investigation of possible corruption allegedly involving his wife.

Lee suggested in an interview with The New York Times on Dec. 9 that his party was not completely surprised by Yoon’s decision to impose martial law. Lee said his party informally had discussed how to respond if Yoon provoked a conflict with North Korea and then declared martial law.

Despite Yoon citing “pro-North” sentiment in the martial law declaration, North Korea did not respond until Dec. 10, when its state-run media described Yoon as a fascist and said he created “pandemonium” in South Korea.

If Yoon’s impeachment is upheld by the Supreme Court, a presidential election must be held within 60 days. In that scenario, Lee is the favorite to become South Korea’s next president, according to South Korean polling analysts.

Lee’s election may reduce the prominence of South Korean rhetoric regarding a domestic nuclear deterrent, which largely comes from members of Yoon’s political party. It is not clear if Lee’s election would open up the political space to reduce tensions with North Korea, even though his Democratic Party is generally more open to negotiating with Pyongyang.

In addition to North Korea’s recent renunciation of the goal of unification, the state’s growing ties with Russia may continue to mitigate any pressure to resume talks with the United States and South Korea.

The United States said it believed that, for the first time, North Korean troops were killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine. In a Dec. 16 press conference, U.S. Defense Department press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that North Korean soldiers “engaged in combat in Kursk” a “little over a week ago” and “suffered casualties.” Ryder said North Korean troops are “legitimate military targets for Ukraine” given that they are engaged in combat as allies of Russia in its full-scale war against Ukraine.

In addition to the growing military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang, the United States raised concerns during a Dec. 18 meeting of the UN Security Council that Russia “may be close to accepting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.” Such a move would reverse Russia’s “decades-long commitment to denuclearize the Korean peninsula,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. She called on council members to “call out this recklessness.”

She also said that the United States is “particularly concerned” about Russia’s intentions to share “satellite and space technologies” with North Korea.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia defended his country’s relationship with North Korea, saying their cooperation “in the military and other spheres is in line with international law.” He said the cooperation will continue and that it does not pose a threat to the region.