It took just 11 days for South Korean parliamentarians to impeach former President Yun Seok-yeol after he threatened to declare martial law and destroy decades of hard-won democracy.
Fourteen months after that ill-fated announcement that led to lawmakers pushing past soldiers and police into the National Assembly and security forces being deployed to the Election Commission office, Mr. Yoon has been found guilty of leading the rebellion and sentenced to life in prison.
Mr. Yoon’s calculation is the result of enormous pressure from South Korea to hold accountable the head of state who nearly destroyed South Korea’s democratic system.
Although his immediate order lasted only six hours, the crisis plunged the country into months of political turmoil. Investigators have since claimed the depth of this brazen plot extends to secret drone flights into North Korea with the aim of provoking a conflict with archrival Kim Jong Un and justifying martial law.
In fact, Seonghwa said she was preparing for the worst when news about Yoon’s address started circulating in her group chat around 10:40 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2024.
“At first I thought there was a war going on,” Song, 35, who runs an online clothing business, told CNN on Wednesday. Husband Heo Woo-jin said, “The moment I saw the news, I felt a huge invisible pressure to do something.”
Yun had accused North Korea’s main opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and engaging in “anti-national” activities. The military order meant that all political activity and protests were banned, the military could arrest people without a warrant, and the press was silenced.
These strict measures were never fully enforced. But for older Koreans, the decree brought back dark memories of years of terror under oppressive military rule.
Former South Korean president found guilty of leading riot
On the night the decree was issued, a couple living in Seoul hurriedly fed their cat Mango and hopped into a car with one goal: to get to the National Assembly, South Korea’s parliament and the seat of democracy, in the heart of the capital.
“I was taking a screenshot of the constitution,” Song said. Specifically, the section states that the Diet can request the lifting of martial law by a quorum vote.
Heo said he took the longer route than usual because he thought security forces would block major roads that cross the Han River, which snakes through the capital, and that lead to state television.
But their path was clear. At about 11:30 p.m., they parked near Congress as helicopters buzzed overhead.
“The helicopters were very loud and it was raining sleet. It was like a scene from a movie,” Ho said.
Hundreds of people had already gathered at the main gate of the parliament building on the freezing December night. Meanwhile, on the steps of the Capitol, demonstrators and lawmakers faced off against troops who blocked the entrance.
Deputies forced their way inside to reach the internal chamber to vote down the military order. Outside, in one of the defining images of the night, a politician grabbed a soldier’s rifle and said he felt it was a “last ditch effort” to prevent security forces from entering parliament.
Some people piled up furniture and barricaded their doors.
Around 1 a.m., 190 MPs, including several members of Yun’s own Conservative party, unanimously voted in favor of lifting martial law. Yun lifted the order about three hours later.
Song said he believes it was the South Korean people who ended martial law that night.
“I think it was the people who came together to protect democracy,” she said.
“There’s a saying that I really like,” Ho said. “‘Courage is not the absence of fear, but the act of acting despite fear.’ The strength of the people who acted despite the fear was truly amazing.”
Seonghwa and Heo Woojin look back on the night Yoon declared martial law.
Yoon’s unusual proclamation marks the first time in 44 years that a South Korean leader has imposed martial law, since Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a military coup and began eight years of iron-fisted rule.
Mr. Trung was similarly convicted of sedition, but was later pardoned.
South Korea has spent four decades since forming a solid, turbulent democracy with a political system similar in many ways to the United States: a presidential system with a strong executive branch. The presidential palace is also called the Blue House.
The alleged similarities between Mr. Yoon and the current U.S. president have drawn attention from Korean academics and even Mr. Yoon’s conservative enthusiasts, and American flags and “Stop the Steal” signs inspired by Donald Trump’s MAGA base are a permanent fixture at Mr. Yoon’s rallies.
“Both sides have little regard for the truth, little respect for the long-standing customs and traditions that underpin democratic institutions, and little time for political cooperation,” said Cho Hee-keun, a law professor at Seoul’s Hongik University.
“(And) both have promoted a stolen election and spread fake news,” Cho added.
Yun, a former prosecutor, was a political newcomer when he took office in 2022, winning the presidential election by a narrow margin. He was a conservative firebrand, a staunch ally of the United States, and tough on China and North Korea.
However, his approval ratings plummeted due to economic problems, a series of scandals involving his wife, and a series of scandals involving political appointments, leading to calls for his resignation. Months before martial law was imposed, his party suffered a crushing election defeat and the opposition took control of parliament. Yoon later claimed election fraud, but the claims were not substantiated.
Yun said martial law was the only way to break the months-long political deadlock in which the main opposition Democratic Party has used parliament to impeach key ministers and block legislation.
In his final statement during the trial, he said, “The National Assembly had no choice but to create a national crisis and awaken the people,” asserting that he was exercising his constitutional authority as president.
“At the time, many people believed that the automatic coup attempt had failed because Mr. Yoon was incompetent,” Cho said. “But we now know that this was planned for much longer and in much more detail than we thought, and it was only a little bit of luck and luck, the courage of ordinary citizens, and civil disobedience by some military personnel that saved us.”
Presiding Judge Ji Kwi-young ruled that Yoon’s sending of troops to the parliament and his attempts to arrest political opponents, including current President Lee Jae-myung, who was then an opposition leader, were acts of sedition.
Although Yoon has fought his case through all legal means, his lack of remorse was part of the prosecution’s push for the death penalty. This is a largely symbolic move, given that South Korea has not carried out an execution in decades.
Mr. Yun refused to comply with summons from investigators throughout the legal process, faced off for weeks with authorities who tried to detain him at his home, and told supporters he would “fight to the end.”
It is not uncommon for former South Korean presidents to face legal problems, but Yoon’s eventual arrest was the first time such action had been taken against a sitting leader.
Yun called the alleged riot a “delusion and fiction” and a political conspiracy. After the verdict, his lawyers said, “We will never succumb to distortions or lies.”
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was sentenced to 30 years in prison for supporting the rebellion, and four other military and police leaders were sentenced to three to 18 years in prison. Former Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is already serving a 23-year sentence.
Yun has the right to appeal, but is still facing multiple criminal trials.
“In general, our democratic institutions have withstood head-on attacks,” Cho said. “At the same time, this real-world stress test made it clear where our weaknesses were and what needed to be repaired.”
Song and Heo say South Korea’s democracy was ultimately saved through the power of the people.
“For those who are wondering, ‘Will anything really change if I do this?’ I want to say that if you fight, the world will change,” Heo said.
