Karishma Vaswani, Columnist

South Korea Needs to Move on From This Crisis

The president’s attempt to hold on to power is a reminder of how much chaos leaders create when they try to thwart democracy.

January 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM UTC

By Karishma Vaswani

Karishma Vaswani is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia politics with a special focus on China. Previously, she was the BBC's lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.

South Korea’s political crisis shows no sign of ending.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

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South Korea’s prolonged political crisis appears to have no end in sight. It’s just over a month since President Yoon Suk Yeol declared, then lifted, martial law and since then, the domestic and regional challenges have been multiplying. To manage the chaos, citizens need to set aside their differences and find a way out of the impasse. That won’t be easy.

Animosity between factions runs deep. Attempts to arrest Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14, have so far ended in vain. His supporters have marched in the streets, calling for authorities to “Stop the Steal” — a reference to the chant that Trump’s camp echoed against President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, alleging his victory was rigged.