A Regression to the Past

Graphic by Kento Uemura

South Korea, a country often known for its democratic stability, has impeached President Yoon because of his decision ot implement martial law, removed President Han Deok-Soo weeks after for refusing to approve a Constitutional Court appointee, and appointed its third president in the span of a month. Regardless of President Yoon’s initial decision to implement the martial law and Deok-Soo’s opposition, constantly usurping presidents reduces the nation’s international credibility and regresses it to its undemocratic past.

Firstly, I will acknowledge the controversial actions and grave consequences that former presidents Yoon Suk-Yeol and Han Deok-Soo committed and caused in their respective short tenures. President Yoon had faced multiple controversies surrounding his first lady even before his inauguration, such as her involvement in bribery by accepting a luxury handbag as well as the dubious authenticity of her PhD. Coupled with his declaration of martial law, which failed to consider the dignity of the Korean people from the history of military oppression, Yoon was criticized for his action, thus aggravating his refutation as the president of a nation. In terms of former acting president Han, his impeachment stemmed largely from the political strife with the Democratic Party (DP). Indeed, he went against the DP’s demand for more party representation and refused to fill three vacant seats in the Constitutional Court, even though a full court was crucial to combat President Yoon's controversies. According to Choi Jin, leader of the Seoul-Based Institute of Presidential Leadership, Han’s action to avoid public criticism from the Korean people was not justified in this refusal. Therefore, Han and Yoon’s impeachments had some sound reasoning to back them up, with both going against a president’s principles by either impulsively militarizing the state or refusing to provide a fair political environment.

Nevertheless, conducting yet another impeachment of the president instead of retention was sure to have significantly more negative outcomes on the political and economic stability of South Korea, and it could set a precedent to spiral into a fluctuating government that runs the risk of overthrowing yet another politician. The impeachment of Yoon and now Han demonstrated Korea’s weak political position and severe internal division between its parties, causing foreign governments and private investors to lose trust in our nation’s integrity and withdraw their investments. For clarity, the Korean stock market’s index decreased 5.6 percent in just four days after Yoon’s martial law declaration and has continued to fall after Han’s impeachment. Additionally, in the week following the Martial Law declaration, consumer spending decreased 26.3 percent and foreign investors sold trillions of won. A similar pattern occurred in 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis, when a sudden downturn of foreign investments manifested a doom loop which destroyed the economies of many Asian countries like Thailand. Insofar as Korea continues to lose international favor, the Korean Won may continue to severely plunge through the destruction of a protective measure. This could not only cause severe concrete harm as Korea undergoes an economic recession, it would also bring back the struggles of everyday life during the IMF debt period of the late 20th century.

Unfortunately for Korea, the economy is not the only sector suffering. Duyeon Kim, a professional for Korean-American relations, states “South Korea is now in a far more serious crisis of leadership and governance. The DP’s political gambit is actually putting the country’s economy and national security at grave risk; Han had the experience and credentials to deal with both security and financial crises if they arise during South Korea’s political uncertainty.” Due to the reckless impeachment of presidents, South Korea is losing its stance as the fourth-most democratic nation in the world as the power of the state shifts from the people’s elected president to the corrupt and disjointed hands of the Senate. So, foreign nations are less likely to ally with and support corrupted and unstable nations due to the risk of perfidy and an unpredictable stance; the longer Korea remains unstable, more allies will be lost.

Conclusively, a situation in which the presidential authority has fluctuated this frequently has not been seen since the mid 20th century, which Koreans often refer to as the dark age. Back then, presidents were often impeached and replaced, not fulfilling their term; in addition, Korea was controlled by military dictatorships who exercised their physical force to subjugate the population. Unfortunately, the status quo is not much different; presidents are being impeached not in a matter of years but rather in a matter of weeks, while simultaneously implementing martial law to shift control out of the people and into the pistol. It is evident that Korea’s impulsive actions are receding the mounds of progress it has made to become a democratic and powerful country, and structural reforms along with greater assessment of the situation is required to maintain the country’s sovereignty.