[Inside Chodong] Why ChatGPT Compared South Korea's Martial Law Crisis to "Maduro"

On the afternoon of the 7th, when the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was dismissed in the National Assembly plenary session due to insufficient quorum, citizens continued their rally in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Shaken democracy, high public impeachment sentiment, and a regime claiming even illegal acts were justified. When keywords summarizing South Korea's political situation after the December 3 emergency martial law incident were entered into ChatGPT, the AI's answer was, surprisingly, Venezuela's "dictator" Nicol?s Maduro.

ChatGPT's response is not entirely off the mark. The way both regimes sought to maintain power by undermining democratic principles unintentionally became a link between the two administrations.

Of course, the situations in South Korea and Venezuela are vastly different and cannot be simply compared. For starters, the economic scale of South Korea, ranked among the world's top 10 economies, starkly contrasts with Venezuela's, and their political structures differ as well. The emergency martial law incident in South Korea ended in just six hours following a parliamentary vote to lift it, which foreign media reported as "a victory for Korean democracy where the separation of powers functions properly." Such an assessment would be impossible in Venezuela, where the democratic framework has collapsed under authoritarian rule. The December 3 emergency martial law incident confirmed the threat that the democracy we have protected could collapse in an instant, while simultaneously proving that Korean democracy is strong enough to sufficiently check such undemocratic behavior.

Nevertheless, Maduro was mentioned because the head of state in each country undermined the fundamental principles of democratic rule of law to maintain power, illegal acts were repeatedly confirmed, and despite rising public anger and demands for impeachment and resignation, they insisted "only I am right," branding criticism against them as anti-state acts. Whether intentional or not, this response resembles the authoritarian governance represented by Maduro.

Venezuelan President Maduro has maintained power despite repeated impeachment demands and resignation pressures due to various illegal acts. The 2016 impeachment attempt, driven by constitutional violations and economic crisis, was easily quashed by the Supreme Court and military loyal to Maduro. Instead, in the following year, Maduro formed a Constituent Assembly, further strengthening his dictatorship by undermining the existing National Assembly through undemocratic means. Neither the strong demands of the people nor international pressure could stop him.

As a result, Venezuela's economic and social crises deepened, and its democratic foundations were shaken. This is a stark example of how overly concentrated power, authoritarian politics, and collapsed democracy intertwined with economic crisis can bring about disaster.

Although South Korea has not headed toward such an extreme situation as Venezuela, the longer the impeachment crisis drags on, the more inevitable political and social damage becomes. The president, who survived the world's first impeachment vote thanks to the ruling party's boycott, is now pushing those who criticized him into the category of "anti-state forces," further fueling national division.

Of course, if asked whether "South Korea's economy will collapse because of this incident," the answer is "no." However, this does not mean there is no "impeachment bill" we must pay. Forbes' column stating, "President Yoon Suk-yeol has proven global investors who argued for a Korea discount right. The 51 million Koreans will have to pay the price of Yoon's selfish emergency martial law declaration in installments," is all the more painful.

At this very moment, the bills we must repay are piling up. Yet, we take solace in the hope that the efforts of our people to prioritize and protect the value of democracy will once again serve as the foundation for the maturation of Korean democracy.