Politics

Yoon Suk Yeol’s arrest exacerbates the South Korean crisis

The political earthquake in South Korea does not stop. A few hours ago, the president Yoon Suk Yeol he was arrested for questioning by the Anti-Corruption Bureau: it is the first time that a South Korean head of state has suffered similar treatment.

According to CNN, the person concerned refused to answer questions and was therefore transferred to a detention centerwhere he will be held “in isolation”. For his part, the president spoke of “illegal procedures”. The leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Park Chan-dae, has a diametrically opposite opinion, according to whom the arrest shows that “justice is alive in South Korea”. Moreover, already at the beginning of January the anti-corruption authorities had attempted to arrest Yoon: an objective which, however, they were unable to achieve, given the resistance of the presidential security service.

We remind you that the South Korean head of state is currently under impeachment proceedingsfollowing the martial law that he had proclaimed at the beginning of December: a measure that he had however revoked within a few hours, due to the controversies that erupted and the opposition shown by the National Assembly. It will now be the Constitutional Court that will have to express its opinion, in the coming weeks or months, on the possible dismissal of Yoon. Meanwhile, South Korean political society appears increasingly divided between supporters and detractors of the president.

This is an overall picture that certifies the growing instability in the country. It is no coincidence that in recent weeks the Pyongyang regime has tried to ride this institutional crisis to launch a propaganda offensive against the Seoul government. Meanwhile, fears that Kim Jong-un could take advantage of the situation are growing.

It is true that the presence of approximately 28,000 American soldiers on South Korean soil today serves as a deterrent factor. However, it is equally true that, in 1950, North Korea resorted to the surprise effect without formally declaring war. The fear at the moment is not so much a large-scale invasion as the possibility that Pyongyang’s forces could exploit the opportunity for some small, but still significant, blitz. All this, also considering the fact that, in recent months, North Korea has significantly strengthened its ties with Russia in the defense sector. That’s why it’s quite likely that the Trump administration, set to take office on Monday, will monitor what is happening in South Korea with absolute attention.