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By Maya Mehrara and Ellie Cook
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeoul is facing impeachment following his attempt to impose martial law on Tuesday.
Yoon, 63, declared the imposition of martial law to root "pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom." However, his decision was followed by mass public protests.
Following his move to impose martial law in South Korea for the first time in four decades, opposition parties have submitted a motion to impeach him, even though he lifted martial law just six hours after it was declared.
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Newsweek reached out to the U.K. Embassy in South Korea for comment via email outside of business hours.
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Public Pressure and Lack of Confidence
Prior to instituting martial law, the South Korean president was facing pressure from the opposition party as they battled over next year's budget bill and the Democratic party's attempt to impeach three top prosecutors.
Yoon had also been losing the public's confidence, with his approval rating falling to 19 percent.
Both pressure from the opposition party and decreasing public favor may have influenced his decision to suddenly declare martial law.
Declaration of Martial Law
During a televised address announcing his imposition of martial law for the first time since the 1980s, Yoon said: "To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea's communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements ... I hereby declare emergency martial law."
The president also said: "Through this martial law, I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into the depths of national ruin."
An official in Yoon's office previously spoke to Newsweek and negated the president's statement that his decision to impose martial law was linked to fears of an attack from North Korea, and said the decision was regarding domestic political issues.
Speaking anonymously, an official in Yoon's office said: "It's a mainly domestic situation. He believed he cannot run the government as usual."
The official added that Yoon "believed it's an emergency situation so he declared it. His argument is that he did it in order to preserve democracy."
Backlash From Public and Politicians
Yoon's decision to impose martial law drew backlash from the public and politicians, in both the opposing Democratic Party and his own conservative party, the People Power Party.
In a statement, the Democratic Party in Korea said: "President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration was a clear violation of the constitution. It didn't abide by any requirements to declare it. His martial law declaration was originally invalid and a grave violation of the constitution. It was a grave act of rebellion and provides perfect grounds for his impeachment."
Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon's party People Power Party, also criticized Yoon's decision as "wrong" and pledged to "stop it with the people."
Members of the public also took to the streets to voice their dismay with the South Korean president's decision, as thousands gathered in front of the National Assembly, South Korea's parliament building, in protest.
Parliament Votes to Veto
South Korea's parliament voted to veto Yoon's plan to impose martial law, and the president subsequently reversed his decision six hours after announcing it.
Impeachment Motion
The impeachment motion filed against Yoon after his declaration of martial law was blocked by lawmakers, and it was signed by 190 opposition lawmakers and one independent lawmaker.
The motion was filed by the main opposition Democratic Party and five other minor opposition parties, including the Rebuilding Korea Party and Reform Party, in the afternoon on Wednesday.
Yoon's impeachment motion had no support from members of the ruling party, the People Power Party, and will be put up for a vote on Friday or Saturday.
The motion requires a two-thirds majority to pass in the parliament, with eight votes from the People Power Party needed to pass in the 300-person National Assembly.
Newsweek spoke to Sojin Lim, a professor in the School of Psychology and Humanities at the U.K.'s University of Central Lancashire, about Yoon's decision to impose martial law.
"Yoon's radical action reflects his frustration with the current situation surrounding the first lady scandal," she said. "Increasingly, citizens have been demanding his impeachment while standing in mass protests even before last night's martial law attempt in South Korea. Additionally, he may have thought that Trump's second presidency would not support his strategy of using North Korea–related narratives as a distraction from domestic issues.
"But imposing emergency martial law in today's South Korea? He totally miscalculated. National Assembly members gathered quite fast and made the vote, and also we now have a new generation of military personnel. It seems inevitable that Yoon will either resign or face impeachment," Lim told Newsweek.
She went on, "Yes, it is still surreal and shocking that martial law was imposed in South Korea in 2024 and so quickly. However, it is worth noting that it was lifted just nine hours later. People are not hesitating to raise their voices, which gives us hope for the resilience of the public and the strength of institutions amid South Korea's political turmoil."
Lim also said that Yoon's decision to impose martial law will result in collateral damage to South Korea's economy. "While the political situation may stabilize in the coming days, the economic repercussions are unlikely to recover as quickly."
Newsweek also spoke to Edward Howell, a Korea Foundation fellow at Chatham House, a British think tank, about the developments in South Korea.
"It really is quite an extraordinary situation and a genuine surprise," he said. "It's almost as if President Yoon went straight for the most extreme option first. We can speculate, but we just don't know what has really prompted that action at this point. There is a message he's trying to send that opposition views will be seen as being anti South Korean, but we don't know really his motivation. The fact he has talked about removing North Korean factions from the country is telling, but there is likely more to this."
Howell continued, "He was already in trouble. His popularity has tanked. He did badly in the National Assembly elections in April, which was an indication, and his numbers and popularity have dropped even more since. He's also been mired in political scandal. There have been allegations and controversy surrounding his wife, and this hasn't landed well with the electorate.
"While this is a domestic crisis and not strictly a foreign policy issue, South Korea's close international allies, such as the United States, will obviously be paying very close attention and watching developments. It does put him in a precarious position, as the opposition will use it against him. It only goes to reinforce both the factionalism in the country and within the ruling party itself," Howell told Newsweek.
Yoon took office in 2022 and has since had difficulties advancing his agenda because of the Democratic Party's control of the parliament, in addition to facing criticism from his opponents after he dismissed investigations into scandals tied to his wife and high-ranking officials.
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