Commentary 24/12/04 South Korea must move rapidly to uphold its constitution

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South Korea must move rapidly to uphold its constitution

It is a bright light in a dark region, because of its freedoms and democracy

Published: December 05, 2024 11:36 AM GMT ▾

Protesters taking part in a march against South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol head toward the Presidential Office in Seoul on Dec. 4, joining a push by the country's opposition to impeach the leader after his extraordinary but short-lived imposition of martial law. (Photo: AFP)

Among the nations in Asia where freedom and human rights are threatened or denied, there are many that concern me — but South Korea was never on my list. On the contrary, I have always regarded South Korea as an ally.

South Korea has always been one of the Asian nations I have most admired. Its vibrant democracy, its active civil society, and its dynamic economy have deeply impressed me.

And so it was with immense shock that I digested the news of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law earlier this week. It was with profound concern that I watched scenes of soldiers storming the parliament in Seoul.

I have been to that parliament — the National Assembly — many times, met elected legislators in their offices, and spoken at protests outside the legislature. Never would I have predicted that in 2024 soldiers would be deployed to attack the legislature.

Of course, one key point to remember from the shocking scenes on Dec. 3 is this: the legislature unanimously — and courageously — voted down President Yoon’s martial law declaration and legislators and aides barricaded themselves in and saw off the soldiers.

In the end, the military backed down. It appears — at least for now — a victory for democracy.

It is also important to remember that South Korea’s democracy is still young. The country was ruled by authoritarian dictators until 1987, and participatory democracy has only really been established over the past two decades.

Indeed, during the pro-democracy demonstrations in 1987, soldiers and police hunted down protesters, many of whom hid in the city’s Myeongdong Cathedral. When the troops arrived at the cathedral — where I have attended Mass many times — the Archbishop of Seoul, Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, met them in front of the cathedral.

Cardinal Kim had already lined up the priests and nuns behind him. And he issued the soldiers this challenge: “You can arrest the protesters. But first you have to arrest me, then you must take all the clergy, and then all the religious. Only then can you take the demonstrators.”

The soldiers backed down, and South Korea’s transition to democracy began.

Devout Catholic Kim Dae-jung, winner of the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize, was instrumental, of course, in the transition, as was Pope St John Paul II, who prayed for reunification of the peninsula in 1989 during a historic visit to Seoul.

Let me say this at the outset. I have worked closely with successive South Korean governments, diplomats and politicians to highlight the human rights crisis in North Korea, the threat Kim Jong-Un’s regime poses to the peninsula, and the contrast between the South and the North.

I have visited South Korea at least a dozen times over the past 15 years. It is a country I love.

Every time I speak on the topic, I show a satellite map of the Korean peninsula which illustrates the difference: the North in almost total darkness, the South lit up in bright lights. I have always argued that this image symbolizes the darkness of totalitarian repression, economic backwardness, and spiritual poverty in the North, versus the light of freedom and democracy, economic growth, and spiritual vitality in the South.

That argument only works if South Korea — and all its allies — consistently uphold the values of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. We cannot defend democracy and human rights by martial law — the two are incompatible and contradictory.

President Yoon’s actions have been deeply counter-productive and damaging. Democracy around the world is already fragile and threatened from external challenges, without having respected and established democracies going wobbly.

He profoundly and unwisely miscalculated, handing Kim Jong-Un in Pyongyang, Xi Jinping in Beijing, and Vladimir Putin in Moscow a weapon to be used against not only Seoul but the free world.

Let us hope that the brave stand of South Korea’s legislators — including many in President Yoon’s own party — restores confidence in democracy, not only in Seoul but across the free world.

It has been reported that President Yoon acted in the way he did because he feared impeachment, for his own conduct or his wife’s alleged corruption. He alleged in turn that the fears were fueled by pro-North Korean groups.

He has not provided adequate evidence of this charge, though it would not surprise me.

But the point is this: in a democracy, you don’t respond to such allegations or suspicions by invoking martial law. There are other political and constitutional tools that would and should have been more appropriately deployed.

If South Korea is to live up to the values it has established over the past 25 years or more — and successfully resist attempts by any anti-democratic forces, pro-North Korean or otherwise — it must move rapidly to uphold its constitution, reject any efforts to subvert democracy and defend its freedoms.

South Korea is a bright light in a dark region, because of its freedoms and democracy. If it loses those, the lights go out across the peninsula and they flicker more fragilely across much of Asia.

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.