Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
South Korean President Yoon Finally Arrested
South Korea has been a flourishing democracy for decades. Its rise has been nothing short of spectacular. Under democratic leaders, the nation has become a major industrial powerhouse and a cultural phenomenon (K-Pop for instance). When President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in December, he began a constitutional crisis that persists to this day. The legislature immediately voted to reject his declaration and impeached him. He faces trial before the Supreme Court, and if convicted, will be formally removed from office and possibly jailed. His declaration put the entire democratic system under threat, and many South Koreans are opposed to it. At the same time, his supporters want the whole matter dropped. This journal thinks the trial should decide it all.
Al Jazeera summed up the situation clearly and succinctly, "Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested after a dramatic and drawn-out showdown with law enforcement officials.
"Police and corruption officers on Wednesday scaled the walls of his residential compound, where he had been holed up for nearly two weeks, evading arrest, after his short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3. The officers broke through the barbed wire and barricades his security personnel had erected."
The split in the security forces is the most troubling. The police had a court order to arrest the man, and the presidential security team (think US Secret Service) denied the police access. There was a stand off for a little while. Then, Al Jazeera states,
After more than 3,000 police officers were mobilised to break into Yoon’s compound, the leader was arrested and taken in for questioning.
"I decided to respond to the CIO's investigation, despite it being an illegal investigation, to prevent unsavoury bloodshed,: Yoon said in a pre-recorded video statement released shortly after his arrest.
Under the relevant law, he is likely to be in custody for quite some time, and his supporters are almost certain to take it badly. How foolish they are and how violent they get are unknowns at this juncture, but one would not wager on cool heads prevailing for a while.
Katie Stallard wrote in the New Statesman, "Yoon insists that he is the victim, not the instigator of South Korea's political crisis. Yoon's detention indicates the end of the immediate stand-off over his liberty, but the beginning of a much bigger battle over his fate and the country's political future."
South Korea is one of those countries whose geographical location force it to have a competent and popular government. With North Korea's insane regime threatening the nation with a million stockpiled artillery shells and China not far away, South Korean security is under constant stress. Its position is fragile and needs leadership that can maintain the status quo internationally.
The National Interest ran a piece by Francis Shin that states "the failed coup has already had tangible negative ramifications for South Korea"s military readiness. This issue is compounded by the potential erosion of South Korea's role in its recently strengthened partnerships, such as its involvement in Pillar II of AUKUS and the United States-South Korea-Japan Camp David Entente, partnerships that are increasingly critical to the country’s national security.
"Even if South Korea overcomes its current political instability, the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is likely to [win] the presidency in the next election. Despite the DPK's strong support of the U.S.-South Korean alliance, it has expressed skepticism about pursuing stronger relations with AUKUS and Japan."
That skepticism is misplaced, but it is less important than getting the current situation resolved. Violence in the streets and a trial in the Supreme Court will increase instability. One hopes the South Korean political class of all stripes sees that.
© Copyright 2025 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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