Democratic Party (South Korea, 2015) in the context of National Assembly (South Korea)

The 2024 South Korean martial law crisis was a political crisis in South Korea triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law. On 3 December 2024, at 22:27 Korea Standard Time (KST), Yoon, then the president of South Korea, announced the imposition of martial law during a televised address. In his speech, he accused the Democratic Party (DPK), which held a majority in the National Assembly, of engaging in "anti-state activities" and collaborating with "North Korean communists" to undermine the country, describing their dominance as a "legislative dictatorship". The declaration suspended political activities, including sessions of the National Assembly and local legislatures, and imposed restrictions on the press. Reports also indicated that Yoon ordered the arrest of several political opponents, including leaders of both the DPK and his own People Power Party (PPP). The move was broadly characterised by both domestic and international media, as well as by South Korean political figures, as an attempted self-coup by Yoon to rule by decree and to reimpose full authoritarianism on the country for the first time since the June Democratic Struggle.

The declaration was opposed by both parties and resulted in protests. At 01:02 on 4 December, 190 legislators who had arrived at the National Assembly Proceeding Hall unanimously passed a motion to lift martial law, despite attempts by the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command to prevent the vote. At 04:30, Yoon and his cabinet lifted martial law and soon disbanded the Martial Law Command. The opposition subsequently began impeachment proceedings against Yoon and said it would continue to do so if he did not resign. Uproar over the declaration has led to the resignation of several officials in Yoon's administration, including Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who urged Yoon to enact martial law during a last-minute cabinet meeting shortly before the declaration and was second-in-command of the martial law order. Yoon, as well as other officials of his administration, and military officers were investigated for their role in the implementation of the decree.

The People Power Party (PPP; Korean: 국민의힘; lit. Power of Nationals) is a conservative and right-wing political party in South Korea. It 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.

The PPP was founded as the United Future Party (UFP) on 17 February 2020 through the merger of the Liberty Korea Party, New Conservative Party, and Onward for Future 4.0, as well as several minor parties and political organizations. It contested the 2020 legislative election together with its satellite party, the Future Korea Party; the alliance achieved the worst conservative result since 1960. The party renamed to the People Power Party on 31 August 2020. It achieved electoral success in the 2021 by-elections. In 2022, PPP presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol was elected as the president of South Korea, followed by PPP victories in the 2022 local elections. Due to the unpopularity of the Yoon administration, the party lost the 2024 legislative election. Yoon declared martial law in December 2024, prompting his impeachment. In 2025, PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo lost the presidential election to Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae Myung, returning PPP to the opposition.

The 2016 South Korean political scandal, often called Park Geun-hye–Choi Soon-sil Gate in South Korea (Korean: 박근혜·최순실 게이트), was a scandal that emerged around October 2016 in relation to the unusual access that Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of shaman-esque cult leader Choi Tae-min, had to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.

Widespread coverage of this South Korean political scandal began in late October 2016. On 29 November, Park offered to begin the process of removing herself from power. On 9 December, Park was impeached, and then-prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn became the acting president. On 21 December, a Special Prosecution Team led by Park Young Soo began to investigate the scandal. On 10 March 2017, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled to uphold the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye. All eight judges agreed that President Park abused her power, and removed her from office. A new election was held sixty days afterwards, which resulted in the victory of Democratic Party candidate Moon Jae-in. Moon won 41% of the popular vote in the election. The scandal caused the first impeachment of a sitting South Korean president since the impeachment of Roh Moo-hyun on 12 March 2004, and the last until Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment on 14 December 2024.

Moon Jae-in (Korean: 문재인, pronounced [mun.dʑɛ.in] ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), he was the party's leader from 2015 to 2016 and also represented Sasang in the National Assembly from 2012 to 2016. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the chief of staff to President Roh Moo-hyun.

Born in Geoje to North Korean refugees, Moon was raised in poverty in Busan. He excelled in school and studied law at Kyung Hee University. He became a lawyer and was involved in human rights activism with Roh Moo-hyun. He was imprisoned for organizing a protest against the Yushin Constitution. As a result of his work in human rights law, Moon was chosen to be Roh's campaign manager in the 2002 presidential election. He served in Roh's administration in various official capacities. In 2012, Moon was a candidate for the Democratic United Party in the 2012 presidential election, which he lost to Park Geun Hye.

On 27 December 2024, South Korean prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo was impeached. The impeachment occurred 13 days after President Yoon Suk Yeol had been impeached as a result of his brief enactment of martial law, making Han acting president.

Opposition Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Chan-dae announced plans to impeach Han on 24 December following his veto of two special counsel bills investigating Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee. On 26 December, the impeachment motion was formally introduced after Han blocked the appointment of three justices to the Constitutional Court of Korea, whose nominations had been approved by the National Assembly.