Democratic Backsliding and Resilience: South Korea’s December 3 Martial Law Crisis

What does it actually take to push back against democratic backsliding — not in theory, but in real time? On December 3, 2024, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law in violation of the South Korean Constitution. Had key figures from democratic institutions and civil society been even a few minutes slower to respond, the National Assembly could have been sealed off and martial law might have succeeded.

This discussion will take you inside that night through the voices of those who were there. Bringing together a journalist, legal scholar, human rights advocate and civil society leader directly involved in the crisis, the panel will examine what made such immediate democratic resilience possible.

Drawing on their experience, speakers will explore: how the media resisted suppression leading up to and during the crisis; the constitutional and political dynamics behind the lifting of martial law and the impeachment process;  how human rights advocates monitored military deployment and conduct; and how civil society rapidly mobilized to build broad democratic solidarity over the impeachment process. This discussion will offer timely lessons for democracies navigating democratic backsliding.

Speakers:

• Jeeyang Rhee Baum (Moderator), Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Kennedy School
• Young-jong Jin, Co-Chair, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, South Korea
• Jikyung Kim, MBC Journalist, Chair, Gender Equality Committee, National Union of Mediaworkers, South Korea
• Sang-don Lee, Emeritus Professor of Law, Chung-Ang University, former Member of the National Assembly, South Korea
• Tae-hoon Lim, Director, Center for Military Human Rights, South Korea

About the Series

Lessons from Global Democratic Resistance is a public panel series that brings together frontline activists, civic leaders, institutional actors and field‑informed scholars to examine how democratic actors have resisted, responded to and learned from democratic backsliding across countries. The series aims to identify practical lessons and comparative insights for those defending democracy today and is organized in collaboration with the Cornell Center on Global Democracy; Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame; the Democratic Futures Project at the University of Virginia; Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law; and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.