Will Yoon's martial law hurt South Korea's alliance with the U.S.?

Home > National > Diplomacy

Will Yoon's martial law hurt South Korea's alliance with the U.S.?

Published: 04 Dec. 2024, 16:30

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell attends a trilateral meeting with South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano at the Foreign Ministry buidling in Seoul on Oct. 16. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of emergency martial law on Tuesday was carried out without prior notice, even to the United States, drawing concerns that it will not only have negative repercussions on the South Korea-U.S. alliance but will also inevitably damage Seoul’s overall diplomatic power.

After Yoon’s declaration of emergency martial law around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the U.S. effectively demanded the swift lifting of martial law and expressed “grave concern,” with the White House’s first response showing a mixed reaction of bewilderment.

U.S. President Joe Biden was reportedly briefed on the situation in South Korea during his visit to Angola, and since then, the American government sent messages to Seoul at all levels to comply with the National Assembly’s resolution to lift the martial law.

Early Wednesday morning martial law was officially lifted just six hours after Yoon’s initial declaration thanks to the unanimous passing of a National Assembly resolution.

“It is our hope and expectation that the laws and regulations of a particular country are abided by, by that particular country,” said Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson of the U.S. State Department in a press briefing on Tuesday local time.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell also said in his comments before the martial law was ultimately lifted that Washington hopes “any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law,” but also expressed “grave concern” over the imposition of martial law.

When martial law was lifted around 4:27 a.m. Wednesday, a White House National Security Council spokesperson expressed that the U.S. was “relieved” that Yoon had backtracked on his “concerning” decision to declare it.

In an unattributed statement, the spokesperson also emphasized that “democracy is at the foundation of the U.S.-ROK alliance,” referring to South Korea by its official name the Republic of Korea, and added Washington “will continue to monitor the situation.”

The fact that the U.S. repeatedly used the expression “concerned” regarding domestic situations in South Korea is seen as unusual and a testament to the gravity of the situation.

“The U.S. is very negative about the mobilization of the military in a free democratic country and is strongly wary of situations where North Korea could take advantage of the chaos in South Korea to make provocations,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University. “The expression ‘grave concern’ mentioned by Deputy Secretary Campbell is the maximum expression the U.S. can use regarding the domestic situation of its allies.”

The U.S. reportedly showed even more sensitive reactions behind the scenes, according to sources.

“Washington reacted extremely sensitively to the news of martial law,” said an American government source. “We inquired about the situation and future developments in Seoul through various channels, but there was no proper response at all.”

Considering the geopolitical location of the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. may have considered a worst-case scenario of added chaos to the tensions with North Korea and China.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul in fact posted an “emergency information alert” on its website Wednesday, announcing that it would cancel all consular services for its citizens and visa applications.

In a virtual interview with Yonhap News on the same day, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg emphasized that the U.S. is “always on alert and prepared” for any potential provocations by North Korea amid the confusion created by the enactment of martial law.

“We are always prepared for any scenario, any kind of issue that might arise," Goldberg said. "Our commitment to the Republic of Korea, the alliance and the Korean people is unwavering and ironclad.

“We were concerned about the events of last night,” Goldberg continued. “At the same time, we're encouraged by the resilience of Korean democracy.”

As the Yoon administration has been focusing on “value diplomacy” with major Western countries including the U.S., there are concerns that such diplomatic efforts may be significantly damaged by the declaration of martial law. Concerns about the first impression that the incoming Donald Trump administration may take on South Korea are also surfacing.

Trump has yet to make a statement on the matter, but his close associate and named head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, commented on social media regarding the martial law situation in South Korea as “shocking.”

“While world leaders are rushing to meet with Trump and major countries are all focusing on lobbying the United States and discovering new networks, only South Korea’s diplomacy has returned to zero and has come to a complete stop,” said Lee Byong-chul, professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute of Far Eastern Studies.

Yoon’s summit diplomacy has in fact come to a stop as the year comes to a close. A planned visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson scheduled for this week has been postponed indefinitely, while a joint South Korea-U.S. training exercise to respond to North Korea’s nuclear program is also experiencing setbacks.

The fourth South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting and the first NCG Table-Training Exercise, which were scheduled to be held in Washington for two days starting on Wednesday, have both been postponed.

In addition, high-level diplomacy among ministers has also been put on hold, with First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun returning early from his business trip to Spain and Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun’s visit to the United Arab Emirates being postponed.

“Instructions were given today to all overseas missions to faithfully carry out their assigned duties without being swayed by the domestic political situation,” a Foreign Ministry official said to reporters on Wednesday. “We will continue to cooperate and manage well so that there are no disruptions to diplomatic activities in which the international community cooperates.”

BY PARK HYUN-JU, LIM JEONG-WON, MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]