President of South Korea backtracks on “Martial Law” and could be impeached

After declaring martial law on Tuesday (3) and backtracking a few hours later, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a possible intense reaction from the opposition, including threats of impeachment.

The Democratic Party, the main opposition force, called for the resignation or removal of Yoon, who has held the presidency since 2022.

Even if martial law is lifted, he cannot avoid treason charges. It was clearly revealed to the entire nation that President Yoon could no longer run the country normally. He must resign“, says Park Chan-dae, the party's senior member of the National Assembly, in a statement.

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_{Image of Yoon Suk Yeol, president of South Korea (Photo: reproduction/Getty Images Embed/Handout)}

Martial law

Yoon declared martial law in order to combat “anti-state forces” allegedly in collusion with the opposition. However, the decree was rejected by parliamentarians, resulting in South Korea's biggest political crisis in decades.

Martial law imposes restrictions on civil rights and replaces normal legislation with military laws, including control over the press, the National Assembly and police forces, as well as banning all political activities such as demonstrations.

The decree, which Yoon said was aimed at his political opponents, was rejected by 190 members of the National Assembly. According to South Korean law, the president must immediately revoke martial law if Parliament rejects it by a majority vote. Yoon's own party has called on him to revoke the decree.

Upon learning of the president's retreat, protesters outside Parliament celebrated, shouting and clapping, with chants of “We won!” echoing around the place.

President's “shot in the foot”

South Korea as a nation dodged a bullet, but President Yoon may have shot himself in the foot“, comments Danny Russel, vice-president of the think tank Asia Society Policy Institute, in the United States, to the Reuters news agency.

Yoon was elected president in May 2022, with a margin of less than 1%, as a right-wing candidate for the People Power Party. Inexperienced in politics, he gained public prominence as a prosecutor investigating some of the country's biggest corruption scandals.

Upon taking office, Yoon faced the challenge of reducing the cost of living, controlling high housing prices and combating growing inequality and unemployment among young people. However, his government found itself embroiled in corruption allegations. The first lady, for example, was filmed receiving a luxury bag as a gift valued at almost R$11,000, a value higher than the limit established by law.

Polls show that Yoon's work has been widely disapproved of by the South Korean population, with the government's approval ratings hovering around 20%. This has increased political pressure on the president.

In April this year, the Democratic Party, in opposition to Yoon, won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections, expanding its control over the National Assembly with more than 170 of the 300 seats.

On that occasion, Yoon made a statement promising changes in his government and the implementation of policies to stabilize South Korea's economy. Meanwhile, the opposition approved motions to investigate the first lady, but all projects were vetoed by the president.

Featured Image: President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol (Reproduction/BBC)