South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing calls to step down following his controversial and short-lived attempt to impose martial law, a move that was swiftly rejected by lawmakers and sparked mass protests across the country.
The unprecedented bid to enforce martial law — the first such attempt in over 40 years — has plunged South Korea into its most severe political crisis in modern democratic history. The decision caught global allies, including the United States, off guard. The U.S., which maintains nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea to deter threats from nuclear-armed North Korea, initially expressed grave concern over the declaration but welcomed its swift reversal.
This turmoil has cast doubt on the political future of Yoon, a conservative leader and former high-profile prosecutor elected in 2022.
On December 4, 2024, opposition lawmakers and civic groups rallied outside the National Assembly in Seoul, demanding Yoon’s immediate resignation. Members of South Korea’s main opposition party, who had forcefully entered the assembly to vote down the martial law measure, vowed to hold Yoon and his administration accountable.
“We will press charges of insurrection against Yoon, his defense and interior ministers, and key figures such as the martial law commander and the police chief,” the Democratic Party announced. The party also pledged to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president.
South Korea’s largest labor union has declared an “indefinite general strike” until Yoon steps down. Even within Yoon’s ruling party, voices of dissent emerged, with the party leader describing the attempt as a “tragic mistake” and calling for accountability for all those involved.