The political landscape of South Korea is under great threat. The complexities became worse on December 3, 2024. It was the time when President Yoon Suk Yeol made the announcement of martial law. He said that the opposition-run National Assembly was trying to prevent government matters and impeach officials. Ge claimed that these opponents were trying to block his plan. Since 1987, this was the first time in history that South Korea had utilized martial law. Furthermore, the National Assembly is surrounded by police and military staff that stop lawmakers from entering and clashing with staff.
Despite this announcement, the National Assembly quickly overturned the martial law. As a result, Yoon issued an apology. His political career is unstable as are many of his party members and National Assembly, who collaborated and voted to impeach him. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s power is suspended until the final decision from the Constitutional Court regarding impeachments. He is also under investigation and not allowed to leave the nation. This marks the big fall for a former prosecutor.
Apart from being highly awkward, this whole situation might harm the United States’ strategic ambitions in East Asia. It’s uncomfortable because the presidency of President Joe Biden frequently hailed South Korea as the model of freedom in Asia and a perfect example of a military-run authoritarianism that has transformed into an open society. To put it clearly, Washington couldn’t have imagined an elected leader becoming an aspiring despot who suppresses disagreement and reduces parliament into an artifact.
Days after martial law was lifted, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stated,
“I believe President Yoon made a grave error in judgment.”
“And I feel that South Korea has a strong and unflattering recollection of its former martial law experiences.”
Nevertheless, the probable influence of the Seoul tragedy on US objectives in this field is far greater than the esthetic. It seems to be an internal South Korean issue at first on the spot. In many ways, that is correct; nobody supports the idea of the United States acting as an intermediary in Seoul, particularly since its democracy isn’t exactly marked by moderation at this point.
This downfall of the South Korean President seems to affect the United States’ approach to Asia. Yoon’s political career is under threat in South Korea, but he is the closest ally of the US, especially in improving relations with Japan. South Korea and Japan are both suffering from great tensions. This is due to Japan’s occupation of Korea. This occupation had long made it hard for the United States to develop strong partnerships in the region. Yoon selected to resolve the present issues instead of focusing on past complexities.
His decision resonates with President Joe Biden’s strategy to strengthen relations between the US, Japan, and South Korea. All of these 3 nations signed an agreement in 2023 to improve cooperation. This resulted in regular military exercises and using the modified approach on some common issues like Taiwan. Yoon’s leadership assisted in growing these important US alliances in Asia.
Nevertheless, from Washington’s standpoint of opinion, Yoon’s probable removal from office bears the risk of erasing some of those profits. If Yoon’s ouster prevails, South Koreans will vote in a new election in 60 days. Opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung, who is leading, is a traditional South Korean leftist who has a negative opinion of Japan and believes that South Korea ought to follow Washington’s foreign policy. In fact, Lee has called Japan a “hostile state.” The leader of the opposition even suggested in October 2022 that Japanese forces might one day fly their flag once again on the Korean Peninsula as a result of trilateral defense talks with Japan. Lee’s and Washington’s opinions on China are also at war.
Yoon never considered a China hawk, but whenever he thought it was vital, he was not beyond casting accusations at Beijing. Because Lee seeks to mend fences with China and doesn’t believe it’s an intelligent strategic move for an island nation to put all of South Korea’s eggs in America’s basket, it’s tough to picture him as president doing this. Lee is indifferent to Taiwan, a topic that U.S. foreign policy experts are currently fixated on. He posed the question earlier this year, “Why do we interfere in cross-strait relations?” Why is the outcome of the Taiwan Strait important to us? Don’t we just need to look for ourselves as individuals? In the end, Yoon had more popularity in Washington than in Seoul.
