Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea should resign, or be impeached

As with manyDPGDPAIPPPPPPDPK attempted coups, it started late at night. Around 10pm on December 3rd , the conservative president of South Korea, suddenly declared martial law: banning all political parties and severely curbing media freedom. Soldiers were deployed to the parliament building and riot police lined the roads. But six hours later, after opposition politicians had barricaded themselves inside parliament and thousands of courageous protesters had flocked to the streets, he abruptly reversed course.That a liberal democracy should suffer so brazen a coup attempt is as disgraceful as it is shocking. The good news is that South Koreans swiftly and firmly rejected it. The furious crowds in Seoul insisted that Mr Yoon had no right to take away their freedoms, confronting soldiers who seemed visibly uncomfortable with what they had been ordered to do. Lawmakers voted unanimously against the imposition of martial law. Even Mr Yoon’s own party stoutly refused to back him. In short, the checks and balances held, at least for now.The bad news is that the story is not over. A youngish democracy (South Korea was under military rule until the 1980s) has taken a beating. And Mr Yoon is still president. What happens in the next few weeks is of grave importance both to South Korea, and to the politics of East Asia, where America and China vie for influence.Mr Yoon’s motives are still not known. He was losing his grip: beset by scandals, including one involving his wife being filmed accepting a luxury handbag as a gift. His approval ratings fell below 20% last month, down from 53% when he in 2022. His agenda was being blocked by the opposition, led by the Democratic Party (), which in the spring and had just trimmed his budget by $3bn, roughly 0.16% of . Such things are normal in a democracy, but Mr Yoon claimed that the National Assembly had “become a monster”. He even implied that its members were collaborating with North Korean “communist forces”. He provided no evidence for this slur.Mr Yoon should resign immediately. He has proven himself unfit for any office, let alone the presidency of one of the world’s most important countries. South Korea is rich, free and a key member of the global coalition of democracies: a treaty ally with America, a supporter of Ukraine and a nation that has stood firm against communist aggression since the 1950s. It is also creative and innovative in fields as varied as and pop music. It is alarming that such a place would even flirt with reverting to autocracy.If Mr Yoon does not step down, the impeachment proceedings against him that have already started should press ahead. Securing the necessary two-thirds majority would require only eight members of his own People’s Power Party () to vote against him. They should do so, even if it means that the opposition end up in charge of the country. There is a fair chance they will, not only because Mr Yoon has trampled on democracy, but also because his ties with the are recent and shallow. Even if Mr Yoon is ejected, it would still be too soon to breathe a sigh of relief. South Korea’s institutions have proven resilient. But its politics remain polarised and bitter, in a world where such things often sap the spirit of democracy. In addition, South Korea’s next chapter may bring fresh challenges. Mr Yoon, for all his dire faults, was pro-American. A president from the would lean more towards China than Mr Yoon did, and might take a less robust view of North Korea. Expect further twists and turns in a terrifying -drama.