Tremors From The Long Night Of December 3

South Korea has clawed back most of the economic losses caused by the shocking declaration of martial law. Its next president is likely to be colder to the West, warmer to China

- Sandip Kumar Mishra Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, JNU

The night of December 3 was scary for South Koreans, to say the least. The world's 12th largest economy, which has also been a vibrant democracy in recent decades, was plunged into a shocking crisis. In a baffling move, President Yoon Suk-yeol announced emergency martial law in the dead of the night—the first in the country in over four decades—and sent troops to the National Assembly.

Fortunately, enough numbers of lawmakers were able to reach parliament and vote out the martial law in only six hours. Whereas Yoon justified his act as just a warning to the opposition members who were blocking his policies and appointments and generally making governance difficult—there is no doubt that he crossed all the limits.

It may be true that after the opposition secured 192 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly in April 2024, Yoon was feeling frustrated because he was not able to get several of his bills passed. But the extreme step he took is largely attributed to his own autocratic way of dealing with democratic contestations.

Yoon was a prosecutor before he got an opportunity to become a presidential candidate from the conservative People's Power Party in 2022. His inexperience in democratic politics—which is a domain of give-and-take, compromises and, more importantly, tolerance for dissent—led him to become increasingly unpopular in South Korea. Rather than rectifying his mistakes, he tried to run over dissent.

In foreign and domestic policy-making too, it has been alleged that he did not take along popular opinion and has been too ‘bold’ in his alignment with the West.

The declaration of martial law was, basically, a move in desperation and delusion. It not only shocked South Koreans, but also enraged them. Soon, people took over the streets and the National Assembly proposed an impeachment motion.