SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – DECEMBER 3: President Lee Jae-Myung speaks during a press conference commemorating the first anniversary of former President Yun Seok-Yeong’s brief imposition of martial law on December 3, 2025 at the Yeonghee Gallery of the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea. A year has passed since then-President Yoon Seok-yeol declared emergency martial law, shocking South Korea and sparking a political crisis that still reverberates today. (Photo provided by Jung Sung-joon/Getty Images)
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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has vowed “strict accountability” for the perpetrators behind last year’s failed attempt to impose martial law by former leader Yun Seok-yeol, calling the unrest a test of the country’s democratic resilience.
In a special address to the nation, Lee described the events of December 3 as a “revolution of light” and said this “revolution” was incomplete, according to an English translation by Ariane News.
He added that investigations and trials related to the riot are still ongoing.
The former president is currently on trial for rioting, and prosecutors are reportedly seeking a 15-year prison sentence for former Prime Minister Han Deok-soo.
Other senior officials, including Yun’s defense minister and the former director of the National Intelligence Service, have also been arrested in connection with the attempt to introduce military rule.
The speech marked one year since Yun abruptly declared martial law, the first such move in Asia’s fourth-largest economy since 1980.
A television screen shows a news broadcast of South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol giving a speech about emergency martial law in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on December 3, 2024.
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Mr. Lee labeled Mr. Yoon’s martial law attempt a “self-coup” and said, “Those who tried to destroy the constitutional order and provoke war for their personal ambitions must be brought to justice in order to build a country where no one dreams of a coup again.”
In his speech, the South Korean president also praised the South Korean people, saying they had peacefully overcome an “unprecedented democratic crisis” and were “fully deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Asked by reporters whether he would recommend any South Korean citizen for this honor, Lee clarified that this was just his personal opinion, but hoped his comments would “spark a public discussion.”
martial law attempt
The crisis began on December 3, 2024, when Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a late-night speech, accusing the Democratic Party led by Lee of engaging in “anti-national activities” and colluding with “North Korean communists.”
Yun ordered the military to be dispatched to the National Assembly, but when special forces tried to break into the building, soldiers blocked their access and clashed with demonstrators and lawmakers.
However, martial law was overturned within three hours after 190 of the 300 members of the National Assembly, including Lee, managed to gather in the chamber and unanimously overturned martial law. Yun finally lifted martial law about six hours after making the announcement.
Soldiers attempt to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul after South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law on December 4, 2024. South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol declared martial law on December 3, denouncing the rebels as “anti-national forces” and saying they were acting to protect the country from the “threat” posed by North Korea.
Jung Young Jae | AFP | Getty Images
South Korea then descended into weeks of political turmoil. Yun was impeached on December 14, and then-Prime Minister Han became acting president. Mr. Han was also impeached on December 27, and was replaced by then-Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok.
The country’s Constitutional Court subsequently reinstated Han in March and made him acting president again, but the court ultimately removed Yun from office on April 4. Yun was subsequently arrested and charged with sedition, which carries a maximum penalty of death.
