South Korean lawmakers impeached not only their martial-law-declaring president but also the guy who stepped up to replace him. The Wall Street Journal's Korea bureau chief Timothy Martin explains the political K-drama. This episode was produced by Victoria Chamberlin, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Rob Byers, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Protesters with both American and South Korean flags and 'Stop the Steal' placards gather to show support for the impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul. Photo by Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What unusual event occurred during President Yoon's state dinner?
A long, long time ago. In April of 2023, President Biden hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for a state dinner. Normal stuff. But something very abnormal happened. President Yoon provided the entertainment. I don't need that much things. I will make those people dance. They'll be very happy for a while.
Yoon's kept it abnormal this past month. He declared martial law on December 3rd. He took it back within hours. Didn't matter. They impeached him. And just this week, South Korean police tried to arrest him, but they failed. We're going to check in on South Korean democracy on Today Explained and remind you why it's an especially important one.
Wow.
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You're listening to Today Explained. President Yoon Seok-yeol had never held elected office before he became the president of South Korea. He was a career prosecutor who is now at the center of one of the most heated political investigations in the history of South Korean democracy. Timothy Martin's been covering the story from Seoul for the Wall Street Journal.
We started with the martial law of it all.
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Chapter 2: What led to the declaration of martial law in South Korea?
Seems hypocritical of them. Nice. Nice one. We saw hundreds of thousands of people outside of National Assembly on a frigid December afternoon, and the vote was held on December 14th. This time, it worked. The opposition was able to get more than 200 votes. Members of Yoon's ruling party crossed the line. This was an anonymous vote. We don't know who exactly defied Yoon. So Yoon was up.
And that meant his presidential powers were suspended and the acting president became Prime Minister Han Deok-soo. Yoon did not fight this or contest this. He said he would transition powers to the prime minister. And he signaled that, yes, I have to step away, but he left open the possibility that he might one day return to continue this journey that he had been on with the people.
And South Korean presidents, by law, serve one purpose. five-year term. So Yoon is about halfway through his five-year term that should end in 2027, but now he's impeached. So how long does his number two, his prime minister, last in his place?
The number two lasts about two weeks. Nice. By December 27th, the number two was also impeached. The number three in line is a deputy prime minister, and he's also the minister of economy and finance. And his name is Choi Sung-mok. And yeah, he's got four jobs now. He's the acting president, acting prime minister, and he's got his old job of...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. What? When does he sleep? Yeah, exactly. I wonder if he gets a pay raise during this period. So you can imagine you go down the line, how far would it go for the opposition would stop? But it looks like the number three is acquiescing.
Okay, so there's some semblance of stability for the moment. Meanwhile, what's going on with President Yoon? President Yoon is believed to be holed up inside the presidential residence, which is in central Seoul. He is fighting for his political life and probably his freedom. Wow.
Investigators say they will seek an extension to the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol. Authorities tried and failed to arrest the impeached leader on Friday.
Yoon and his defense team, they've refused to show up for questioning three times. Special investigators received a detainment warrant. President Yoon and his Secret Service bodyguards and some protesters, they were able to fend off an arrest attempt on January 3rd, last Friday. They consider the legal case, the criminal case against him to be unwarranted, to lack legal merit.
This goes back to Yoon's point that he believes the martial law decree was simply an act of governance, not a criminal act. So we have a very defiant stance from Yoon at this moment. Does all of this amount to a constitutional crisis in South Korea? It feels like it. Is that how South Koreans feel?
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