South Korea’s Resilient Democracy

Both South Korea and the wider world were shocked when Yoon Suk-yeol, then the country’s president, declared martial law on 3 December 2024. However, the South Korean population, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court ensured that the constitutional order dating back to the democratic transition of 1987 prevailed. Thus, Yoon’s martial-law declaration ultimately served to underscore the resilience of South Korean democracy. The victory of liberal Lee Jae-myung in the 3 June 2025 election, and the immediate acceptance of the election result by the conservative opposition, further underlined that contemporary South Korea is a consolidated democracy. Lee’s government now faces the pressing need to address South Korea’s political divide, create the conditions to strengthen economic growth, tackle a range of socio-economic issues and navigate a complex foreign-policy environment.