Short-lived 'coup'

South Koreans united to overturn President Yoon’s martial law attempt, upholding democracy against authoritarianism.

It only took a few hours for the people of South Korea and their elected representatives to crush an attempt by the country's president to grant himself dictatorial powers, inspiring millions of people around the world who have seen tinpot dictators take charge due to the ineffectuality of the political class.

Just before 11pm local time on Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. Within three hours, lawmakers and protesters gathered outside the National Assembly and managed to get past soldiers who were barricading the entrances. About two hours later, legislators unanimously voted to overturn the martial law decree, forcing Yoon to withdraw his declaration. Parliamentarians are now calling for Yoon's resignation. Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun has already resigned, blaming himself for suggesting the declaration of martial law and thus triggering the fiasco. But Yoon's opponents rightly noted that it was ultimately the president's decision, not the minister's.

Despite its strong recent democratic record, South Korea has a long history of coups and military rule. And while Yoon was elected - by a margin of less than 1% - he has been slammed for showing authoritarian tendencies even before the declaration, including praising brutal dictators. His party had also lost control of parliament partly due to his unpopularity. Instead of accepting the blame, he claimed he had to sack parliament to defend the country from pro-North Korean anti-state forces, and protect the free constitutional order from vague, unnamed threat.

This is not dissimilar from speeches given by martial law administrators, including Pakistan's, to justify their disdain for democracy. But unlike Pakistan, even Yoon's supporters did not hand out sweets, the courts did not approve criminal subversion of the constitution under an unwritten "doctrine of necessity", and Yoon's opponents took democratic actions to address undemocratic ones. The only way to uphold democracy and keep authoritarians at bay is to take a stand for what is just, even if it goes against one's own interests.