Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea should resign, or be impeached
As with many attempted coups, it started late at night. Around 10pm on December 3rd Yoon Suk Yeol, the conservative president of South Korea, suddenly declared martial law: banning all political parties and severely curbing media freedom. Soldiers were deployed to the parliament building and riot police lined the roads. But six hours later, after opposition politicians had barricaded themselves inside parliament and thousands of courageous protesters had taken to the streets, he abruptly reversed course.
That a liberal democracy should suffer so brazen a coup attempt is as disgraceful as it is shocking. The good news is that South Koreans swiftly and firmly rejected it. The furious crowds in Seoul insisted that Mr Yoon had no right to take away their freedoms, confronting soldiers who seemed visibly uncomfortable with what they had been ordered to do. Lawmakers voted unanimously against the imposition of martial law. Even Mr Yoon’s own party stoutly refused to back him. In short, the checks and balances held, at least for now.
The bad news is that the story is not over. South Korea is a youngish democracy that was under military rule until the 1980s and it has taken a beating. Mr Yoon is still president. What happens in the next few weeks is of importance both to South Korea and the politics of East Asia, where America and China vie for influence.
Mr Yoon’s motives are still not known. He was losing his grip and beset by scandals, including one involving his wife being filmed accepting a luxury handbag as a gift. His approval ratings fell to around 20% last month, down from around 50% when he took office in 2022. His agenda was being blocked by the opposition, led by the Democratic Party (DP), which won legislative elections in the spring and had just trimmed his budget by $3bn, or 0.16% of GDP. Such things are normal in a democracy, but Mr Yoon claimed that the National Assembly had “become a monster”. He even implied that its members were collaborating with North Korean “communist forces”. He provided no evidence for this slur.
Mr Yoon should resign immediately. He has proved himself unfit for any office, let alone the presidency of South Korea. Rich, free and a key member of the global coalition of democracies, it is a treaty ally with America, a supporter of Ukraine and a nation that has stood firm against communist aggression since the 1950s. It is also creative and innovative in fields as varied as artificial intelligence and pop music. It is alarming that the president of a country that stands as an example of a successful democratic transition would flirt with reverting to autocracy.
If Mr Yoon does not step down, the impeachment proceedings against him that have already started should press ahead. Securing the necessary two-thirds majority would require only eight members of his own People’s Power Party (PPP) to vote against him. They should do so in large numbers, even if it puts the opposition in charge. Their spines ought to be stiffened by cabinet resignations and mass demonstrations. Besides, Mr Yoon’s ties to the PPP are recent and shallow.
Even if Mr Yoon is ejected, it will be too soon to relax. South Korea’s institutions have proved resilient. But politics remains polarised and bitter, in a world where that often saps the spirit of democracy. In addition, South Korea’s next chapter may be difficult. Mr Yoon, for all his dire faults, was pro-American. A president from the DP would lean more towards China than he did, and may take a less robust view of North Korea. Expect further twists and turns in this terrifying K-drama. ■
Subscribers to The Economist can sign up to our new Opinion newsletter, which brings together the best of our leaders, columns, guest essays and reader correspondence.