Kim Won-soo

Korean politics have been under great turmoil for over a month in the aftermath of the short-lived martial law crisis early last month. President Yoon Suk Yeol made the move like a bolt out of the blue, and withdrew it like a gentle sheep forced by the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

The obvious logical question is posed on why he did it. It may well be either ill-advised by his advisers or misjudged by himself. Or it could be a mix of both. In any case, it was perceived and rejected by the Korean people as an anachronistic attempt to turn the Korean political clock backward. The final answer will emerge as a matter of time through the ongoing investigations and the legal processes including the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court. Regardless of the answer, it already dealt a fatally suicidal blow to his own presidency.

Unfortunately, the aftermath is going through even worse chaos with devastating repercussions on all aspects of state affairs of Korea. The credibility of the Korean democratic system is at serious risk. Economic indicators continue to plunge due to uncertainty about the political transition. The security landscape looks deeply troubling, as the Korean transition overlaps with another........

© The Korea Times