The history of South Korea begins with the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945. At that time, South Korea and North Korea were divided, despite being the same people and on the same peninsula. In 1950, the Korean War broke out. North Korea overran South Korea until US-led UN forces intervened. At the end of the war in 1953, the border between South and North remained largely similar. Tensions between the two sides continued. South Korea alternated between dictatorship and liberal democracy. It underwent substantial economic development.
The president of the Republic of Korea, also known as the president of Korea, is both the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president is directly elected by the citizens of the Republic of Korea and pledges to execute the duties of their office, chief among others "to defend the State, pursue peaceful unification of the homeland." The president leads the State Council, is the chief of the executive branch of the national government and the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.
The prime minister of the Republic of Korea is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea. The prime minister is appointed by the president of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's approval. The prime minister may be a member of the National Assembly, but this is not required to hold the office.
A self-coup, also called an autocoup or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power through illegal means through the actions of themselves and/or their supporters. The leader may dissolve or render powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assume extraordinary powers. Other measures may include annulling the nation's constitution, suspending civil courts, and having the head of government assume dictatorial powers.
The Constitutional Court of Korea is one of the highest courts – along with the Supreme Court – in South Korea's judiciary that exercises constitutional review, seated in Jongno, Seoul. The South Korean constitution vests judicial power in courts composed of judges, which establishes the ordinary-court system, but also separates an independent constitutional court and grants it exclusive jurisdiction over matters of constitutionality. Specifically, Chapter VI Article 111 Clause 1 of the South Korean Constitution specifies the following cases to be exclusively reviewed by the Constitutional Court:
- The constitutionality of a law upon the request of the courts;
- Impeachment;
- Dissolution of a political party;
- Competence disputes between State agencies, between State agencies and local governments, and between local governments; and
- Constitutional complaints as prescribed by [the Constitutional Court] Act.
Han Duck-soo is a South Korean diplomat, economist, and politician who served as acting president of South Korea from 14 to 27 December 2024 and the 38th and 48th prime minister of South Korea, serving from 2007 to 2008 and since 2022. Since 27 December 2024, Han has been suspended from his prime ministerial powers following his impeachment by the National Assembly of Korea. Han is the fifth person to hold the prime minister's office twice, having previously served under President Roh Moo-hyun from 2007 to 2008. He also held office as ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2012 and as chairman of the Korea International Trade Association from 2012 to 2015.
Conservatism in South Korea is a political and social philosophy characterized by Korean culture and from Confucianism. South Korean conservative parties largely believe in stances such as a developmental state, pro-business, opposition to trade unions, strong national defence, anti-communism, pro-communitarianism, pro-United States, pro-European, pro-NATO, pro-United Kingdom and pro-CANZUK in foreign relations, pay attention on North Korean defectors, sanctions and human rights, and recently free trade, Economic liberalism, and neoliberalism.
Woo Won-shik is a South Korean politician who has served as Speaker of the 22nd National Assembly of South Korea since June 2024. He was a Member of the National Assembly for Nowon, Seoul from 2004 to 2008 and returned to office in 2012. He was a member of Democratic Party of Korea prior to his election as speaker in 2024. As speaker, he presided over the impeacements of President Yoon Suk-yeol and Acting President Han Duck-soo.
The Progressive Party (Korean: 진보당), formerly known as the Minjung Party until June 2020, is a left-wing progressive and left-wing nationalist political party in South Korea.
Yoon Suk Yeol is a South Korean lawyer and politician who has served as the 13th president of South Korea since 2022. A member of the People Power Party (PPP), Yoon previously served as the prosecutor general of South Korea from 2019 to 2021 under his presidential predecessor, Moon Jae-in. Since 14 December 2024, Yoon has been suspended from his presidential powers following his impeachment by the National Assembly of Korea. The Constitutional Court of Korea is in the process of determining whether he is permanently removed or restored to office.
The People Power Party, formerly known as the United Future Party, is a conservative and right-wing political party in South Korea. It controls the South Korean presidency and is the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The PPP, along with its historic rival, the Democratic Party, make up the two largest political parties in South Korea.
Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 9 March 2022. Under the South Korean constitution, presidents are restricted to a single five-year term, meaning that incumbent president Moon Jae-in was ineligible to run for a second term. Opposition candidate Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party won the election, defeating candidate Lee Jae-myung of the incumbent Democratic Party.
The Summit for Democracy is a virtual summit hosted by the United States "to renew democracy at home and confront autocracies abroad". The first summit was held on December 9–10, 2021. The three themes are defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and advancing respect for human rights. Contradictory to its themes, multiple un-democratic and authoritarian nations have attended, which has attracted criticism.
Democratic backsliding, also known as autocratization, is the decline in democratic qualities of a political regime, the opposite of democratization.
Lee Sang-min is a South Korean lawyer and a former judge. From 2022 to 2024, he served as the Minister of the Interior and Safety in the Cabinet of President Yoon Suk-yeol. He resigned in the aftermath of the 2024 South Korean martial law incident.
The next South Korean presidential election was originally scheduled for 2027. However, following the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol on 14 December 2024, an early election in 2025 is likely. According to the South Korean constitution, if President Yoon Suk Yeol resigns or is removed from office by the Constitutional Court, a snap presidential election must be held within 60 days.
On 3 December 2024, at 22:27 Korea Standard Time (KST), Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, declared martial law during a televised address. In his declaration, Yoon accused the Democratic Party (DPK), which has a majority in the National Assembly, of conducting "anti-state activities" and collaborating with "North Korean communists" to destroy the country, thereby creating a "legislative dictatorship". The order prohibited political activities, including gatherings of the National Assembly and local legislatures, and suspended the free press. Separately, Yoon reportedly ordered the arrest of various political opponents, including the leaders of the DPK and his own People Power Party (PPP). This event was widely characterized by Korean politicians and news organizations, both international and domestic, as an attempted self-coup.
On 14 December 2024, Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, was impeached by the National Assembly. This action came in response to Yoon's declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024, which was overturned by the National Assembly and officially withdrawn six hours later on 4 December 2024.
On 27 December 2024, South Korean prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo was impeached. The efforts came 10 days after president Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached as a result of his brief enactment of martial law earlier that month and Han assumed the presidency. Opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae announced plans to impeach Han on 24 December after he declined to approve two bills providing special counsel for Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee. The motion was formally filed on 26 December after Han blocked the appointment of three justices to the Constitutional Court of Korea whose nomination was approved by the National Assembly. After Speaker Woo Won-shik ruled that Han can be impeached by a simple majority due to his status as a cabinet minister, Han was impeached by 192 MPs on 27 December, with members of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotting the vote. Deputy prime minister and finance minister Choi Sang-mok assumed the roles of acting president and acting prime minister pending the Constitutional Court's decision on whether to remove Han from office.
