In the busy commercial areas of Seoul, like Myeongdong and Gangnam, everything appears normal — with people dashing in and out of shops, restaurants and offices — despite all of the political turmoil going on in South Korea.
In early December, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law out of the blue. That got him impeached within days. Yoon, who’s also under investigation on charges of insurrection and abuse of power, is currently locked up in a solitary prison cell in western Seoul.
Over the weekend, a mob of Yoon’s supporters smashed their way into a court building in Seoul. Police restored order in the early hours of Sunday morning, but not before making dozens of arrests. Authorities say that 66 suspects from the courthouse attack will remain in custody and are facing charges including assaulting police officers, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news.
Yoon, speaking through his lawyers on Monday, said the violence at the court building was “shocking and unfortunate,” according to Reuters. He said that he understood why people are feeling “rage and unfairness” but he reminded them to express their opinions peacefully.
Yoon’s supporters insist that his impeachment, arrest and the legal charges against him are all illegitimate. And they are keen to get the attention of Donald Trump as he takes office for a new term in the US. At daily protests near the courthouse, Yoon’s supporters have been waving American flags and signs that say, “Stop the steal.”
Rev. Jun Kwang Hoon is a far-right activist, preacher and YouTuber who’s been organizing protests in support of the president.
“President Yoon Suk Yeol will definitely be back,” Jun told The World. “He didn’t make any mistakes at all, because he declared martial law under the constitution.”
But South Korean judges — along with much of the public — do not agree.
John Delury, who is with the Asia Society and spent many years as a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, said that Korean democracy is being tested.
“The martial law ploy went right to the heart of whether the system works. And it proved incredible resilience in the moment of crisis. Now, in the aftermath, you’re seeing Korean politics kind of enter potentially a protracted crisis,” he said. “So, it’s a question of whether the system can impose accountability and rule of law and get things moving forward again, or if it gets stuck.”
If the country’s leadership crisis wasn’t enough, South Korea’s economy is also facing real headwinds right now with inflation, job losses and a devalued currency.
Amid all of this, the handover in Washington is underway — which is meaningful for South Korea, especially because Trump put a huge amount of pressure on the alliance between the US and South Korea in his first term.
Trump demanded more compensation from Seoul for the US troop presence in the country, complained about the trade deficit with South Korea and he suggested that South Korea was taking advantage of the United States.
“South Korea needs to get an elected leader in place as quickly as possible to manage that relationship, because it can be very bumpy,” Delury said.
As part of Yoon’s legal case, he could be removed from office. Then, a national election would be held in 60 days.
But complicating matters, the perceived front-runner — Lee Jae Myung from the Democratic Party — faces legal troubles of his own.
Lee has already received a suspended sentence on a corruption charge, and he’s awaiting three other trials. Depending on the outcome of those legal proceedings, he could end up being disqualified from running for office by the Supreme Court.
Kim Sang Woo, a former member of parliament and an adviser to two former South Korean presidents, said the situation is worrisome.
“There has to be some kind of change within the political system and the politicians also need to think differently, because nowadays, it’s party politics first and damn the country,” he said.
Kim, who was part of the left-leaning Democratic Party for years, said its leadership has been completely unwilling to compromise with Yoon’s administration and, in turn, alienated a lot of voters.
Lee, he said, “is a clever person, but he’s not international. He doesn’t really understand. I think he’s a populist as a politician. He’s not really understanding what is good for the country and what needs to be done.”
Sung Yoon Lee, a global fellow with the Wilson Center, said that South Korea is in uncharted territory — but that the political mayhem shouldn’t be overstated.
“If I had to make a bet, I think I would [bet] on the side of caution and optimism and suggest boldly that South Korea will recover and come out of this dilemma, come out of these growing pains as a stronger society and a stronger liberal democracy.”