The historical and sociopolitical contexts of President Yoon’s declaration of martial law and its aftermath
The declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, in South Korea (hereafter Korea) stunned the world. People are still wondering how such an undemocratic measure could happen in an advanced nation like Korea, long viewed as a beacon of Asian democracy. Simply put, the declaration was President Yoon’s political suicide, based on miscalculations and poor judgment, and he is primarily to blame. His days as Korea’s top leader are numbered, and he may face criminal charges for violating the Constitution and even attempting insurrection.
Still, to understand what has happened and learn any lesson for the future of Korean democracy, we need to consider the larger historical and sociopolitical contexts. As I warned in a 2020 essay, Korea’s democracy had been gradually crumbling in a manner captured by the Korean expression “to become soaked by a light drizzle without noticing.” As I argued in that essay and elsewhere, “the subtle subversion of democratic norms across multiple spheres could one day hit Korea's young democracy with unbearable costs.” This is what we are witnessing today.
Democratic Rise and Backsliding
Korea’s struggle for democracy has been a long and arduous journey, marked by many challenges and sacrifices. It began in April 1960 with a student movement, the country’s first large-scale, grassroots expression of the desire for democratic change. That student-led movement toppled the authoritarian Syngman Rhee regime but, in the following year, faced a military coup led by Park Chung Hee. Park ruled until his assassination by his intelligence chief in 1979, which was soon followed by another military coup led by Chun Doon Whan. Chun brutally suppressed civilian protests in the city of Kwangju in May 1980. Many Koreans, including myself, still hold painful memories of the martial laws imposed in 1979 and 1980.
Korea finally transitioned to democracy in 1987 after nationwide protests and has been considered an exemplary case of the “third wave” of democratization. Even after the transition, however, the young Korean democracy faced many challenges, including corruption charges against presidential families and even the suicide of a former president.
