South Korea, a country about 5 thousand km to the east of India, has world famous bands like BTS and companies like Samsung. At 10:23 pm on December 3, 2024, President Yoon Suk-sol suddenly imposed martial law i.e. emergency in the country. People came to the streets. A motion was quickly passed against it in Parliament and it had to be repealed within 6 hours. When the move backfired, the President apologized to the people, but the damage had been done. Within 10 days, the chair of the President who imposed emergency by bringing an impeachment motion in the National Assembly has been snatched away. Why did Yoon Suk-sol sit back and buy trouble, does he still have a chance and what will happen if such a situation arises in India? ; Will know in today’s explainer… Question 1: Why was impeachment brought against President Yoon Suk-sol? Answer: There are two big reasons behind removing the President of South Korea through impeachment… 1. He imposed martial law in the country. Announcing this, Yoon had said that ‘the opposition sympathizes with North Korea and is involved in anti-national activities. To save the country from this, they are announcing the imposition of martial law.’2. After winning the presidential election in 2022, Yun started dictatorship. His name surfaced in several scandals while he was president. After the vote, opposition Democratic Party leader Park Chan-dae said, ‘Today’s impeachment is a great victory for the people.’ Celebration after the impeachment was passed against President Yoon on December 14. People celebrating. Question 2: Why did President Yoon impose martial law? Answer: For this, first let us understand the political system of South Korea. There the President is the head of the government. The people directly elect their President for 5 years. Separate elections are held every 4 years for the National Assembly. In 2022, Yoon became President by winning by a small margin. In the National Assembly elections in 2024, the ruling People Power got only 108 seats, while the opposition party DPK got 170 seats. After his defeat in the assembly, Yoon was unable to pass the laws he wanted. There were two major reasons behind the imposition of martial law…Compulsion to use veto power: After the defeat in the assembly, Yoon was not able to pass the laws of his choice. He started using veto power to stop the bills passed by the opposition in the House. Trying to avoid investigation of scams: Yoon and his wife Kim-Kyun-hee are also accused of many scams. Kim is accused of embezzlement of $63.6 billion in a case related to Deutsche Motors. The opposition had brought ‘Special Council Investigation Bill’ in the Parliament to investigate against Kim. Apart from this, in September 2022, a Korean American pastor gifted a luxury bag of Dior company worth Rs 2 lakh to Kim. Its video went viral and spread anger among the public. People said that Kim is the First Lady, so she should not have received such an expensive gift. People expressing happiness after the lifting of martial law in South Korea. Question 3: What is the process of removing the President in South Korea? Answer: Impeachment is used to remove a person from any position. Impeachment is brought under Article 77 of the Constitution of South Korea. After impeachment is passed, the person is removed from all the powers and responsibilities of that post. Understand the process of impeachment in South Korea in points… First of all, the opposition starts the process of impeachment against the President with the signatures of 50 thousand citizens. Voting on it is done in the Parliament within 3 days of the impeachment motion being brought. The motion is passed. For this to happen, the support of 200 out of the total 300 members of Parliament is required. After the proposal is passed, the President is suspended. In place of the President, the Prime Minister is made acting. The President is appointed. A trial is conducted against the President in the Constitutional Court for about 6 months. After the trial is over, 9 members of the Council vote to remove the President from office. If less than 6 votes are received, the President resigns from his post. Remains in office. If more than 6 votes are received, the President is dismissed from office. A new President is elected within the next 60 days. As soon as the Parliament of South Korea Impeachment motion passed, people started celebrating on the streets. Question 4: Who will run the government in South Korea now? Answer: After President Yoon, Prime Minister Han Duk-soo will take over as acting President. Han became the President of South Korea for the first time in 2007. Han was again made prime minister following President Yoon’s victory in 2022. The rights of the acting president are not clearly stated in the Constitution of South Korea, but he will hold the post until a new president is elected. Han faces many challenges as acting president. The biggest challenge in this is to bring back trust among the people of the country. President Yoon’s image may also affect Han. He will have to improve the economic conditions in the country, deal with North Korea and maintain the government. South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duk-soo. Question 5: Can President Yoon flee the country? Answer: According to the report of American news agency ABC News, an investigation is going on against Yun for abuse of power and imposition of martial law. For this reason the investigating agencies are keeping an eye on them. In such a situation, it is difficult for Yoon to leave the country. On December 9, the Justice Ministry of South Korea had banned President Yoon from leaving the country. Due to which he cannot legally flee the country. President Yoon Suk-sol addressing the nation on December 12. Question 6: Can President Yoon get the impeachment rejected by the court? Answer: The trial against Yun will go on in the Constitutional Court for the next 6 months i.e. till June 2025. Usually, a 9-member bench hears these cases, but in October 2024, 3 judges resigned. After which now 6 judges are left in the bench. If the three judges are not recruited by June 2025, then a 6-member bench will have to hear Yoon’s case. If any one of the 6 members gives a verdict in Yoon’s favor, he can become President again. At the same time, if the bench convicts Yoon, then new presidential elections will be held within 60 days. Question 7: How different is South Korea’s martial law from India’s presidential rule? Answer: Korea’s martial law is similar to India’s emergency law. However, when emergency is imposed in India, only the President rules. There is no military rule here. Whereas in Korean Martial Law, there is military rule and the President is called the Army Chief. During this period the civil court gets suspended. Also, as long as martial law is imposed, fundamental rights also remain suspended. Martial Law in South Korea According to Article 77 of the Constitution of South Korea, the President can impose martial law in the event of war, armed conflict or national emergency in the country. . In this, orders are given to maintain public safety and order by gathering military forces. Under this law, arrest can be made without warrant. With this, the freedom of speech, assembly and citizens and the powers of the judiciary can be suspended. After the imposition of martial law, the activities of the army, parliament and political parties are banned. Besides, the media is also under the control of the Martial Law Command. Emergency in India: There is a provision to implement this law in three types of emergency situations in the Constitution of India – National Emergency: According to Constitution Article 352, any state or If the constitutional machinery at the Center becomes weak, emergency can be declared in that state or the entire country. President’s Rule: Article 356 of the Constitution states that President’s rule is imposed when there is no majority government or when law and order deteriorates. which led to the unity of the country Economic Emergency: According to Article 360 of the Indian Constitution, this emergency can be declared at the time of economic crisis in the country. When it is announced, the fundamental rights of the citizens are suspended. Question 8: What will happen if such a situation ever arises in India? Answer: The President has the right to declare emergency in India, but on the written suggestion of the Union Cabinet. Emergency was imposed in India only once in 1975. At that time there was Indira Gandhi’s government in the country. There was no provision for written approval then. When the Janata Party won the elections held after 21 months of emergency, this provision was added to the 44th Constitutional Amendment. After the emergency is declared, it is also necessary to get it passed in both the houses of the Parliament. If the emergency proposal does not get majority in any house, then the declared emergency will automatically be repealed. The decision to impose emergency in India can also be challenged in the Supreme Court. Question 9: What impact will President Yoon’s departure have on the relations between South Korea and India? Answer: According to retired JNU professor and foreign expert AK Pasha, President Yoon’s departure will not have any negative impact on the relations between India and South Korea. JNU Professor Swaran Singh says in an interview, there is a trade of 27-28 billion dollars between India and South Korea. South Korea is a big investor in India. It has a big impact on India’s consumer products and markets. Due to this, the Indian government will keep an eye on the political changes taking place in South Korea. Election of a new President is to be held in South Korea in the next 6 to 8 months. South Korean President Yoon Suk-sol meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India in 2023. Question 10: Has impeachment been brought against the President of South Korea before? had gone? Answer: Impeachment was brought three times before in South Korea. In this, once the President was removed from office and once the President was reinstated by the court. In 2024, impeachment was brought against President Yoon only. During this period only 192 votes were cast in favor of the proposal. Due to lack of two-thirds of the votes, the motion could not be passed and was defeated. In 2016, an impeachment motion was brought against the then President Park Geun-hye in the Korean Parliament. 234 votes were cast in favor of this proposal and it was passed. After this, there was a trial in the court for 6 months. After this trial, a bench of 9 judges ruled in favor of the impeachment motion and new presidential elections were held within 2 months. In 2004, impeachment was brought against Roh Moo-hyun, which was passed in the Parliament. But the court rejected it. After this, Roh Moo-Hyun again occupied the post of President. ————-Research Collaboration- Ayush Aggarwal———–Others related to South Korea Read the news: President imposed martial law in South Korea: Army arrived to surround the Parliament, but by then the MPs had already voted; Had to be withdrawn within 6 hours: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has withdrawn the order to impose martial law in the country. The President had announced the imposition of martial law at 7 pm (Indian time) on 3 December, after which protests broke out across the country and a situation of anarchy was created. Read the full news…
