On April 4th, 2025, South Korea’s thirteenth president Yoon Suk Yeol, the nominee of the right-wing People Power Party (PPP) elected in 2022, was officially impeached by the National Assembly. An emotional event for all political parties, this moment marked a pivotal change in Korean politics. Back in December of 2024, at 10:30 p.m., Yoon had declared martial law over the nation, denouncing North Korea in his announcement and vowing to take action against its supporters. He ordered the arrests of his political opponents and journalists in the name of “public defense,” accusing the Democratic Party of Korea of being North Korean sympathizers. News of his words swept like wildfire over the globe, stunning the world with this unexpected turn of events, especially as it involved such an already hostile and unpredictable nation like North Korea. As it turned midnight, politicians and activists all scrambled to get legislators into the National Assembly, which was the only place South Korea could turn to for a fighting chance against Yoon. Then, six hours after the declaration, at 4:30 a.m., the order was overturned in a unanimous vote by 190 out of 300 members of the National Assembly who made it into the National Assembly Proceeding Hall after a long night of protest and outrage.
Yoon’s declaration for martial law reminded many citizens of a not-so-distant period in South Korean history that wrought death and fear. An event known as the Gwangju Uprising internationally and “오일팔” (“May 18th”) colloquially stains South Korea’s historic fight for democracy in blood. The militaristic dictator at the time, President Chun Doo-hwan, took power in 1979 through a coup d’état following the assassination of the previous dictator, Park Chung Hee. South Korea, already in turmoil because of the oppressive rule Park instated, found itself once again under a corrupt institution.
On May 17th, 1980, President Chun ordered martial law across the country. This sparked further action in the already intense anti-fascist movements by students and professors who had been forcefully removed from their institutions for pro-democracy protests. In response to these anti-fascist protests, President Chun further enforced martial law, calling for military force to be used on student demonstrations. Over the course of ten days, law enforcement and military troops were given the order to use violence against militias, protesters, and even unfortunate bystanders. Buildings were targeted for their arms, others for working with the corrupt leaders. Whether or not the civilians were armed, many were shot, clubbed, or tortured to death. These continuous acts of extreme violence against civilians incited further anti-government protests in neighboring cities. Increasing numbers of people began to arm themselves in response and joined demonstrations for democracy around the country.
Many police officers in Gwangju were also reported to have faced military brutality for siding with the people of their city. Police Superintendent General Ahn Byung-ha famously refused to order his officers to fire upon protestors even under escalating pressure from the Martial Law Command, asserting that they will not use violence against what could be their family and friends. As a result of his disobedience, he was arrested, forced to resign, and heavily tortured, which, according to his family, forever changed him.
Other officers who also refused to follow military orders chose to help captive civilians escape. Many were unsuccessful and they too received severe punishment, with witness accounts claiming to have seen officers chased down by troopers.
On May 22, communication and travel to and from the city of Gwangju, which was at the time the heart of government opposition, was cut off from the rest of the country. This provided a short grace period for the newly formed Citizens’ Settlement Committee to begin negotiations with the military who had regrouped around the city outskirts while waiting for reinforcements.
May 27 brought the final military action against the citizens of Gwangju. Troops dressed in camouflage armed with guns, tanks, and helicopters reentered the city and, in under two hours, quashed what remained of the uprising in one fell swoop.
Different sources claim contradictory statistics about the resulting carnage. The city of Gwangju and the surviving witnesses report nearly two thousand civilian deaths, while the Martial Law Command reports one hundred forty-four civilians, 22 military troops, and 4 police officers in death tolls.
This entire event resulted in the pointless deaths of South Korean citizens who were protesting against their corrupt government under a dictatorship. It demonstrated the people’s desire for political representation and their opposition to martial law, a sentiment that has once again revived in this present day following recent events under the 13th president, Yoon Suk Yeol, just forty-four years later.
At the time, President Chun had claimed that these anti-government demonstrations were orchestrated by North Korean sympathizers fueled by communist ideologies, painting the students as violent hooligans. Yoon, in a similar attempt to use anti-North Korean attitudes to gain public support for the call of martial law, tried to use North Korea as a scapegoat for his plans. Yoon allegedly sent drones across the northern border to provoke North Korea into attacking South Korea, theoretically justifying his call for martial law. This was thankfully not the course of action North Korean President Kim Jong Un took, and a violent confrontation was avoided.
However, the public did not take kindly to the revelation of this stunt. Longtime adversity between the two nations following the Korean War makes such risky moves incredibly dangerous. Kim has not shown any interest in plans for reunification and has instead continued to publicly denounce the south.
Yoon, since the start of his presidency in 2022, has seen a consistent decrease in public approval. Numerous controversies sparked public outrage for Yoon’s lack of response and care for his position. The unfortunate deaths of multiple marines in both 2023 and 2024 prompted investigations that would lead into much more serious allegations down the line. Both times, President Yoon resisted the investigations and demanded for them to be put to rest. After the 2023 monsoon rescue mission resulting in the death of marine Lance Corporal Chae Su-geun, the Marine Corps looked into the matter. Findings indicated that the negligence of eight officers was responsible for the death. Major oversights in safety that endangered many more marines at the scene were noted, including the lack of life jackets and other floatation devices that would otherwise have been imperative in such a mission.
However, the release of this information was not taken kindly to by military higher ups. Lead investigator Colonel Park Jeong-hun was suddenly ordered to remove several names from the list of charged officers, downplaying the severity of the corruption and incompetence of especially the major general and commander whose high ranks and close ties to government officials drew suspicion towards the potential connection between them and the president.
President Yoon was accused of covering up the accident to protect his high ranking allies in the military. He would continue to do the same for his wife First Lady Kim Keon-hee when she, too, came under fire for bribery. Public outrage followed as the corruption that plagued the Korean government came to light. As time went on, citizens continued to grow discontent with the manner in which Yoon was leading them. Harsh criticism was already on his tail before his presidency in 2022 for his anti-feminist words and choosing to side with the male population during a time of turmoil regarding women’s rights, where anti-feminists were rapidly gaining in numbers.
Yoon’s declaration of martial law over South Korea in December of 2024, was the last straw for not just left-wing supporters, but many politicians in South Korea on all sides. His attempts to repeat such a violent period in history brought citizens together with the shared goal of taking Yoon out of power for good. The vote to end martial law heard voices from all sides of the political field, both in the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and a few from the opposing People Power Party (PPP).
Not long after martial law was shut down, Yoon was urged to resign by members of the DPK, lest he be impeached. The first vote for his impeachment was scheduled for December 7th, 2024, four days after the declaration of martial law. The PPP, still in support of their candidate Yoon, held a meeting where their members agreed to vote in opposition to impeachment. However, a day before the vote was to be held, evidence that Yoon planned to arrest even members of his own party was leaked. The leader of the PPP and Yoon’s once-closest ally, Han Dong-hoon, learned that he, too, would have been arrested had Yoon’s plans not been foiled.
Even still, on the day of the vote, 105 members of the PPP never showed up. The remaining 195 lawmakers, regardless of their choice, could not see the vote to an end, due to a rule requiring that at least 200 total votes be counted for a decision to be made. Lacking only five more votes, the move for impeachment was shut down early, leaving protesting citizens with bitter feelings and spectators unsatisfied.
A second vote was scheduled for December 14th, 2024. This time, the PPP’s leader Han, promised the PPP’s participation in the vote. With 300 votes finally in, counting had begun. All the while thousands of anti-Yoon protesters filled the streets surrounding the National Assembly Proceeding Hall making as much noise as they could for their cause.
A total of 204 votes made the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol at last a success. Yoon’s prime minister Han Duck-soo became acting president, and proceedings to officially remove Yoon from office commenced. A warrant was soon put out for Yoon’s arrest on charges of leading an insurrection and abusing his power. In early January of 2025, Yoon took shelter in his residence, hiding away from law enforcers and the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) who repeatedly attempted to reach him. He used his security team to prevent officers from entering his home, and obstructed his detainment. Due to his insistence on not leaving, the first attempt was dropped and prosecutors planned to continue again later.
On the morning of January 15th, 2025, the CIO returned to arrest Yoon once again. A military unit guarding the president, against Yoon’s will, provided the CIO permission to enter the property. Hundreds of officials were called to the property to assist in the arrest of both Yoon and any resisting staff members. Fences were cut and climbed to reach him. Broadcasts livestreamed the event to viewers across the world. All eyes were on Yoon.
The announcement of Yoon’s arrest came out at 10:33 a.m. after Yoon released a video stating his compliance with the law. He was detained at the Seoul Detention Center in solitary confinement, until his release on March 8th, 2025, when his arrest was not appealed by the court.
On April 4th, 2025, a trial of 11 hearings over the course of four months since his impeachment by the Assembly, brought the case to a close with an 8-0 decision, with Yoon’s impeachment made official. A new election for the next president was now to be held in the following 60 days.
As of today, the elections have ended and the new president, Lee Jae-myung of the DPK has taken his seat. Votes came to 49% in favor of Lee to 41% for rival Kim Moon-soo of the PPP. A former lawyer, governor, assembly member until his victory in the presidential race, Lee is most recently famous for his livestream during the fight against martial law when it was first declared. The video shows him arriving at the National Assembly while speaking to his audience about the dangers Yoon posed to freedom in South Korea. He records himself scaling the walls between him and the building, giving himself access and allowing him to make his way inside in order to vote against Yoon’s declaration. This video went viral as it showed the dedication that Yoon’s opposition had to put an end to his corruption, igniting the same flames of resistance in citizens across the nation.
With a new leader at the helm, the people of South Korea now devote themselves to rooting out remaining martial law conspirators still in the government. They focus all their efforts in reversing the changes Yoon had made while he was in office in the hopes of a brighter future. The world now watches on, eager to see what Lee can do.
On April 4th, 2025, South Korea’s thirteenth president Yoon Suk Yeol, the nominee of the right-wing People Power Party (PPP) elected in 2022, was officially impeached by the National Assembly.