[Insight & Opinion] One Year After 12.3: Constitutional Instability Becomes the New Normal

One year has passed since the 12·3 Martial Law. It was an anachronistic and absurd state of emergency that was nullified within hours by a resolution of the National Assembly. The people and the National Assembly protected the constitutional order, proving that Korean democracy is still alive. Yet, even today, a year later, the constitutional order remains unstable. The ruling party claims that the country has been restored to normalcy following the change of government, but still presents the liquidation of the rebellion as a task to be completed. The opposition criticizes the administration for wielding unconstitutional dictatorial power in an attempt to resolve its judicial risks. For the past year, the debate over settling the rebellion and accusations of unconstitutional dictatorship have made constitutional instability the new normal.

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol was ousted through impeachment and is now in custody, standing trial on charges including rebellion, treason, and abuse of power. Others who were involved in state affairs at the time are also under investigation and being prosecuted for complicity in the rebellion. The People Power Party, now in opposition, has become even more powerless, having lost public trust. With the opposition in disarray, there is little hope for the normalization of party politics. Those who should be reflecting on their actions still seem to be caught in delusion. In his letter to Han Gil Jeon, Yoon portrays himself as a leader suffering for having done the right thing.

Regardless of whether the state of emergency constituted a rebellion, the conduct of former President Yoon during his tenure, as revealed during the trial, as well as his wife’s involvement in state affairs, have only deepened the public’s sense of shame. Despite standing trial for being the mastermind of a rebellion-a charge that carries a potential life sentence or worse-he has not garnered sympathy, but rather increased public criticism. According to a Korea Gallup poll conducted from November 25 to 27, Yoon Suk-yeol was named the president who made the most mistakes among all former presidents.

The fall of the People Power Party, now in opposition, stems from the aftermath of Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law and impeachment, but the party itself is also largely to blame. In particular, Jang Donghyeok, who has failed to break away from the “Yoon Again” faction, bears significant responsibility. Marking the first anniversary of martial law, Song Eon-seok and other floor leaders apologized once again as the then-ruling party, but Jang Donghyeok insisted it was “martial law against parliamentary tyranny,” shifting blame onto the Democratic Party’s dominance of the legislature. Amid the self-destruction of the opposition, which continues to chant the futile slogan of “Yoon Again,” the new ruling power, having already subdued its adversaries, is now arbitrarily expanding the notion of a “fictitious rebellion,” calling for the defeat of an already vanquished enemy.

President Lee Jaemyung, commemorating the first anniversary of the “Revolution of Light” that nullified martial law, emphasized the need to root out the underlying causes of rebellion. What are these underlying causes? When martial law was declared last year, no one could believe it at first. It seemed unimaginable in today’s era. Yet, such an irrational event not only could happen but did happen. It was the result of the abuse of supreme power and failed leadership. When political confrontation becomes extreme, the likelihood of being pushed into irrational and extreme situations increases. As Levitsky and others have warned, the vulnerable point of democracy lies precisely in the abuse of representative power and the resulting failure of political leadership.

In this regard, whether it is the “Revolution of Light” or rooting out rebellion, the essential tasks are self-restraint in the exercise of power, adherence to the rule of law, and overcoming extreme partisan politics. The Lee Jaemyung administration is moving in the opposite direction. Instead of self-restraint, there is hegemonic rule, and partisan politics are becoming even more extreme. While the administration speaks of reforming the prosecution, judiciary, and media, suspicions abound that these are merely strategies to shield against judicial risks, fueling constitutional controversy. The administration claims to have normalized the nation, yet paradoxically continues to call for endless liquidation of rebellion. The constitutional order remains unstable.

The lesson to be learned from the anachronistic 12·3 Martial Law, one year on, is not the phantom politics of “Lord of the Flies” style rebellion liquidation, but the self-restraint of those in supreme power and respect for the Constitution. Only then can the government of popular sovereignty, as the president describes, be truly realized.

Kim Manheum, Former Chief of the National Assembly Research Service