Six weeks after South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol’s six-hour imposition of martial law, he was finally arrested on Wednesday after a lengthy stand-off. He will be questioned by anti-corruption investigators about the martial law decision.
The National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on December 14th, suspending his powers until South Korea’s constitutional court rules on whether he should be permanently removed from office. Two weeks later, legislators impeached prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo for allegedly obstructing the impeachment by failing to nominate three justices to vacant positions on the court.
Finance minister Choi Sang-mok then stepped into the role of acting president. He said yesterday that the arrest was important “for maintaining order and the rule of law in South Korea.”
Although Yoon initially apologised for imposing martial law, he has become more defiant in recent weeks and now claims that his action was necessary to flush out what he claims are communists and North Korean sympathisers in the opposition. He appeared to relent somewhat yesterday, saying he would agree to questioning to avoid “unsavoury bloodshed”. Though he may not have had much choice.
Yoon’s supporters have adopted Donald Trump’s slogan “Stop the Steal”, alleging that the opposition is subverting the constitutional order by attempting to drive the president from office.
If the constitutional court upholds Yoon’s impeachment, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is currently the favourite to win. He advocates a less confrontational approach to North Korea and friendlier relations with China and he opposed the trilateral security pact Yoon agreed with the US and Japan.
With North Korea deepening its links with Moscow – including providing soldiers for the war in Ukraine – South Korea has a dangerous and unpredictable neighbour. It needs a swift end to the turmoil into which its president has plunged it.