Time Zones: Washington DC, Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 6:00 pm EDT UTC-4 hours | Los Angeles, Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 3:00 pm PDT UTC-7 hours | Seoul, South Korea Friday, April 18, 2025 at 7:00 am KST UTC+9 hours
In December 2024, South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol shocked the world by declaring martial law on national television, making bizarre claims about threats from “North Korea’s communist forces” and “anti-state” elements. He ordered special forces soldiers to storm the National Assembly to arrest lawmakers, but South Koreans quickly mobilized to block the troops, enabling lawmakers to climb walls to enter the Parliament and vote 190-0 to revoke Yoon’s unconstitutional order. By dawn, Yoon had to comply with the Parliamentary resolution to rescind martial law.
On Friday, April 4th KST, the South Korean Constitutional Court will issue their verdict. If Yoon is impeached, a snap election will be underway, with a new South Korean president elected by June 2025. If the Court votes against the impeachment, a new era of emboldened right-wing authoritarians will seize state power, threatening the future of democracy in South Korea, one of the strongest in Asia. To discuss this dangerous situation, IPS will host an online roundtable with leading experts to discuss the South Korean pro-democracy movement, especially the role of activists, labor, and media, to push back against martial law and rising authoritarianism in South Korea.
Speakers:
- Francis Dae-Hoon Lee, Peace Momo
- Wolsan Liem, Strategy and Policy Coordinator, International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)
- Kap Seol, journalist
Moderator: Christine Ahn, Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies
This session is the second in a monthly IPS series on: Lessons from Resistance to Authoritarianism Around the World.
