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Only a swift ruling can clear confusion

Published: 30 Dec. 2024, 19:27

Kim Seon-taek
The author is an honorary professor of Korea University’s School of Law and a member of the political division of the JoongAng Ilbo’sReset Korea campaign.

President Yoon Seok Yeol, accused of high treason for declaring martial law, was suspended from office following the National Assembly’s passage of an impeachment motion. Then, the prime minister, who was serving as acting president, was also suspended from office following his impeachment. The people are closely monitoring the situation with anxious eyes.

Choi Sang-mok, the deputy prime minister and finance minister who now serves as acting president, must not follow in the footsteps of Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, who failed to find balance as the interim leader and joined the political dispute, fueling the chaos.

The government should leave political issues to the National Assembly and focus solely on economic issues to prevent the economy from collapsing. In order to avoid further political uncertainty, the government should put aside everything but the stability of the people’s livelihoods.

The role of the Constitutional Court is crucial in calming the situation and restoring constitutional order. The court should exercise its power of presiding over litigation in order to expedite the proceedings. The facts are clear, so it should not take long. If the president committed an unconstitutional or illegal act, and the offense is grave, the court just needs to uphold the impeachment.

There is no question that the power to declare martial law is within the scope of the president’s authority. However, the exercise of such power can only be justified if it follows the procedures and forms prescribed by the Constitution and the law and is within the scope granted by the Constitution and the law in terms of content. The requirements to exercise this power are set by law to prevent misuse and abuse, and the president cannot subjectively or arbitrarily determine these preconditions.

The declaration of martial law must be made in a written document after the national defense minister or the interior and safety minister make a recommendation and a Cabinet meeting is convened to deliberate it. It then requires countersignatures of the prime minister and Cabinet ministers, notification by the president, publication in the government gazette and notification to the National Assembly, but none of those steps were followed. In a hastily convened Cabinet meeting, the president spoke for just five minutes before holding a press conference, a clear violation of procedure.

The purpose of declaring martial law was clearly stated in the decree. Banning all political activities by parliament, local councils and political parties is effectively dissolving them. Emergency martial law only temporarily transfers administrative and judicial functions to the martial law authorities, and there was no measure stipulated on the transfer of legislative functions, so Yoon’s action was a clear violation of the Constitution. Placing all media and publications under martial law control would result in the censorship of any information even slightly unfavorable to the president.

Yoon also banned not only walkouts and slowdown strikes by laborers but also all gatherings, depriving workers of their rights. He even ordered all medical professionals including residents to unconditionally return to their jobs, threatening them with punishment under martial law. Yoon threatened violators of the decree with arrest, detention and raids without warrants and jail for up to three years. The decree also opened the door to punishing lawmakers as criminals. In fact, martial law troops were mobilized to raid parliament and attempt to arrest lawmakers.

The troops even made a surprise raid on the National Election Commission, a constitutionally independent body set up to ensure fair elections. There was no sign of a war or a national emergency of equivalent magnitude, which is a requirement for martial law declarations under the Constitution and the Martial Law Act. The illegality of the declaration, as well as the contents and its implementation, is extremely serious and grave.

The latest incident can be seen as a case in which the president has attempted to destroy the basic liberal democratic order by abusing his command of the armed forces and mobilizing them illegally. One of the key elements of a basic liberal democratic order is the existence and protection of the political opposition. It is a liberal democratic system that allows it to exist and guarantees it basic rights such as press, publication, assembly and association and resolves problems though dialogue.

Labeling the opposition an “anti-state force,” declaring that he alone will hold power and executing it by force can only be seen as an attempt to overthrow the liberal democratic system. The only option for the Constitutional Court is to remove Yoon by upholding the impeachment. We hope the court will make a swift decision and the country’s chaos will be resolved as soon as possible.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.