Yoon’s impeachment won’t end South Korea’s political chaos

For those who loathed him, it was second time lucky – but only just. With South Korea’s national assembly passing the motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol today (with 204 votes in favour and 85 against), the stage is set for the country’s constitutional court to determine the president’s fate: whether to oust him from office or restore his powers. The streets of Seoul are filled with scenes of jubilation accompanied by fireworks and K-pop songs. But these same streets are also occupied by pro-Yoon protesters, outraged at his impeachment. The road ahead is long. And whilst in the wake of the result, Yoon announced that he would be ‘temporarily stopping [his] journey’, the future of South Korean politics looks to be anything but calm.

This morning’s outcome was not unexpected. The declaration of martial law late last Tuesday evening is not what one expects from the leader of a global economic, political, and cultural powerhouse.