US Sullivan on Yoon's Emergency Martial Law: "Korea Will Endure Even If Democratic Institutions Are Challenged"

Jake Sullivan U.S. White House National Security Advisor

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. White House National Security Advisor, highlighted South Korea's democratic system that did not collapse despite experiencing the emergency martial law situation under President Yoon Suk-yeol.

On the 17th (local time) in New York, during a discussion hosted by the American cultural organization '92NY,' Sullivan spoke about South Korea's emergency martial law situation, stating, "The true test lies in whether democratic institutions can endure until the very last moment even if they are challenged," and added, "South Korea is enduring."

Reuters Yonhap News

He emphasized, "We also had the January 6 incident," and noted, "It is important to recognize that dramatic events can happen even in highly advanced and consolidated democratic societies."

The January 6 incident Sullivan referred to was when fervent supporters of then-President-elect Donald Trump, who rejected the 2020 U.S. presidential election results, stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6 the following year to disrupt the certification process of the election results by the federal Congress.

Senior U.S. government officials have collectively paid attention to the resilience of South Korean democracy following the martial law situation in South Korea. Sullivan's remarks on this day are interpreted in the same context.

Sullivan assessed, "Protesters pushed back the barrels of guns held by soldiers deployed to block the National Assembly to prevent the adoption of the resolution to lift martial law," calling it a "dramatic moment." However, he added, "Since the process is still ongoing, I do not think the crisis is completely over until everything is decided through the courts (the Constitutional Court, which will make the final decision on President Yoon's impeachment)," but diagnosed that "South Korea's (democratic) institutions are enduring."

Sullivan analyzed that the international community has entered an era of challenging and turbulent competition beyond the post-Cold War period. He said, "(Dramatic political upheavals like emergency martial law) can occur not only in places like the Middle East but also in South Korea and the United States," and pointed out, "The key is whether the U.S. has the fundamental elements of power and capability to confront geopolitical competitors and respond to the great currents of our time."