Asia-Pacific Newsweek
December 10, 2024
jakarta – The power struggle that unfolded in South Korea last week had many of the elements and plot points needed to make a best-selling Korean drama about how true liberal democracy protects society.
Here's the synopsis: An unpopular president desperately clings to power and sends troops into the streets of Seoul, but Congress quickly reacts and overwhelmingly votes down his declaration of martial law. Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered outside the parliament building, defying a curfew and confronting heavily armed soldiers and tanks, providing access for enough parliament members to gather and do their work.
This real-life political drama that took place on the night of December 3 is short and concise, unlike traditional Korean dramas that drag on for several seasons.
Not only has martial law been lifted, but the opposition parties in parliament are now preparing to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol. But this last part is more like an epilogue. The climax of the drama occurred when the president lifted martial law just hours after declaring it. A classic story of good triumphing over evil. We couldn't have asked for a happier ending.
The real story, the real lesson for Koreans and the rest of the world, is that democracy, which really means the will of the people, is resilient enough to repel a president who wields gun power. Popular stay.
Democracy survived because the North Korean people were willing and fought for it. The drama goes against trends in other parts of the world, where mature and immature democracies are drifting toward authoritarianism, where people passively accept their fate rather than fight to defend it.
While the villains in the show are obvious, with Yoon and his cohorts trying to hang on to power, the real heroes are the people, especially those who took to the streets and gathered outside the parliament building, which was already guarded by the military.
A video that went viral that night showed a woman scuffling with an armed soldier. She won the battle, but only because the soldier (to his credit) didn't fire.
If blood had been shed, the whole story would have taken a different turn. This would have been a go-to plot for an influential TV series. In real life, Koreans show that there is no need to kill people. To protect democracy, you must make up your mind.
It’s easy to forget the role the Internet and social media have played in saving democracy.
That night, the military visited all traditional media outlets and imposed a news blackout, an important part of martial law. But the Internet and social media platforms are not controlled by the military. They couldn't control it even if they wanted to. The Internet is awash with news and information about the tense period following the declaration of martial law.
Video clips of emergency parliamentary hearings were shared on social media, including 190 lawmakers who attended the vote and hundreds of people who defied the military curfew. Thirty years ago or earlier, in the pre-internet era, most people would not have known what was going on and would have remained passive participants in the unfolding drama.
We should commend the South Korean military for not succumbing to the temptation of power. They followed the president's orders to impose martial law, but after parliament voted to lift it, the soldiers quickly retreated and returned to their barracks.
Now, President Yoon’s days are numbered. His claim that anti-state forces were working with the Communist Party and the North Korean government to undermine the country did not hold up. No one is buying that from a leader who has lost all credibility.
Until the leadership issue is resolved, South Korea will continue to experience political instability. The political drama continues, but we can safely say that the worst is over.
