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Will President Yoon’s counterattack succeed?

Published: 13 Feb. 2025, 00:00

Chung Hyo-shik

Chung Hyo-shik
The author is the social news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“All quiet on the western front.” This phrase, the title of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel published in 1929, was taken directly from a military report on the day in 1918 when the protagonist, a young German soldier, was killed in action. The original German title translates to “Nothing new in the West,” encapsulating the grim reality that an individual soldier’s death could be dismissed as an uneventful occurrence in war.

“No incident occurred.” That was how President Yoon Suk Yeol summarized his perception of the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law during his defense at the Constitutional Court on Feb. 4. It also served as his one-line plea as a criminal defendant facing charges of leading an insurrection and as his strategy to regain office in his impeachment trial. On Feb. 11, he elaborated, stating, “When I say nothing happened, I mean that the Democratic Party (DP) fabricated the insurrection narrative — there were no arrests or removals of individuals, the military did not oppress or attack citizens and, in fact, soldiers were the ones assaulted by civilians.”

President Yoon’s assertion that “nothing happened” signals a shift from his initial defensive stance of describing martial law as a “precautionary measure” and a “legitimate action” to a more aggressive strategy that frames the equation of martial law with insurrection as part of a DP-led coup attempt through impeachment. Notably, he denied the prosecution’s key allegations by stating, “I never ordered the arrest of Lee Jae-myung or Han Dong-hoon, nor did I direct the removal of lawmakers” and “I am unaware of the emergency legislative body memo.”

He even turned the accusation around, claiming that “the DP’s impeachment and insurrection allegations following the lifting of martial law were, in fact, a coup attempt aimed at seizing power.” This rhetoric has effectively rallied his supporters, particularly those who oppose DP leader Lee Jae-myung. On Feb. 8, a pro-Yoon demonstration against impeachment titled the "Save Korea National Emergency Prayer Rally" drew a record 52,000 participants, the largest crowd since the botched martial law.

Since Yoon’s indictment on Jan. 26, pro-impeachment demonstrations by the opposition have quieted, while his supporters have coalesced. This unexpected turn of events has unsettled not only the DP, which had been preparing for a presidential election in May or June, but also the ruling party, raising the question of whether they should brace for Yoon’s potential return.

However, the eight justices of the Constitutional Court, including acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae, are not easily swayed by public opinion, regardless of their ideological leanings. Yoon’s pivot to framing impeachment as an insurrection plot may stem from a sense of crisis, as he faces not only the Constitutional Court’s ruling but also a criminal trial where he could receive a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Despite Yoon’s claim that “nothing happened” that day, the prosecution’s indictment states that after declaring martial law, he deployed 1,605 armed soldiers from the Defense Counter-intelligence Command, Special Warfare Command, Capital Defense Command and Intelligence Command, along with 3,790 police officers from the National Police Agency, Seoul Metropolitan Police and South Gyeonggi district Police. These forces occupied and restricted access to the National Assembly, the National Election Commission and DP headquarters, using methods such as arrests, detentions and searches and seizures to exert control. While Yoon argues that these measures were meant to “maintain security under martial law” and “inspect election fraud,” he has acknowledged ordering military deployments to the National Assembly and the Election Commission. Whether this constitutes an “insurrection that disrupts public order in a specific region” — as defined in the Supreme Court’s rulings on the Dec. 12, 1979 military coup and the May 18, 1980 Gwangju Uprising — is now up to the Constitutional Court and the judiciary.

So far, the only witnesses at the Constitutional Court who have actively supported Yoon’s “DP insurrection” argument are his high school alumni, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min. However, even among them, conflicting testimonies have emerged. Lee claimed that “there were notes on the president’s desk instructing power and water cuts to media outlets,” while former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyeong admitted that “Kim ordered me to instruct National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho to locate specific individuals on an arrest list.”

As the impeachment trial nears its final stages, if President Yoon continues to rely on conspiracy theories and political maneuvering instead of facts and evidence, he may find himself increasingly isolated. The 51.2 million citizens of Korea witnessed the martial law events unfold in real time — rewriting history as fiction or fabrication at this point is simply not an option.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.