South Korea divided by martial law and MAGA influence

The 2024–2025 martial law crisis not only saw a court severely vandalized for the first time in 35 years in South Korean history, but also revealed a level of societal and political polarization unseen since the country’s democratic transition in the late 1980s.



For many South Koreans, the declaration of martial law by then-president Yoon Suk Yeol revived painful memories of past authoritarian regimes, when military rule and the suspension of civil liberties were imposed.



Millions of citizens and civil society groups took to the streets in largely peaceful protests demanding Yoon’s impeachment over what they described as an unlawful use of martial law, accusing him of undermining democracy and reviving authoritarian rule.



Meanwhile, Yoon’s supporters—mostly influenced by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rhetoric—resorted to extremism and violence in the hope of securing his release. Acts included self-immolation attempts and the vandalization of a Seoul court, with supporters arguing that martial law was necessary to defend democracy.



South Korea has since remained in a state of political deadlock following the martial law crisis, with the scars of polarization expected to persist in the near future.