AN INEPT COUP
But if it was a coup, it was a remarkably inept one. Mr Yoon did not appear to have lined up much support in the police or military. South Korean legislature managed to quickly convene despite the security services converging on the parliament building.
The entire body of legislators present – including from Mr Yoon’s own party – voted to revoke martial law. So just six hours after martial law was declared, it was lifted. The whole thing felt like a strange farce.
But the fallout will be severe. President Yoon is already facing enormous pressure to resign.
If he does not, he will almost certainly be impeached. South Korea has successfully and non-violently impeached a previous president. The template to remove Mr Yoon is there, and lawmakers will now view him as a threat to South Korean constitutionalism.
South Korea’s political stability and liberal political ideals are at stake, as its relationship with other liberal democracies. It would be surprising if he is still president at the end of the year.
Robert Kelly (@Robert_E_Kelly) is a professor of political science at Pusan National University.
