Martial law fiasco escalates South Korea's diplomatic isolation

The front pages of major U.S. newspapers feature coverage of South Korea's martial law which was declared on Tuesday night and lifted on early Wednesday, in this photo taken at a newspaper stand in Va., Wednesday (local time). Yonhap

The fallout from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law debacle is spilling over to the country's foreign relations, jeopardizing the president’s goal of turning the country into a “global pivotal state,” diplomatic analysts said, Thursday.

A series of planned visits by foreign leaders and senior officials has been canceled as the nation grapples with the aftermath of the emergency military rule, which lasted just six hours from late Tuesday to early Wednesday.

The Ministry of National Defense said Thursday that a meeting between South Korean and Kazakh defense ministers, scheduled for later that day in Seoul, was canceled after Kazakhstan called off the official's trip.

“Considering the current situation, the schedule was canceled through mutual consultation between the two sides,” a ministry official said.

The announcement came shortly after Yoon accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. Kim offered to step down, Wednesday, amid growing speculation that he played a central role in the martial law declaration. Yoon accepted the offer the next day.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who had been set to visit Seoul from Thursday to Saturday, also canceled his trip, citing the “current situation” in South Korea, his office said Wednesday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pose during a meeting at Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Joint Press Corps

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is reportedly reconsidering a planned visit to Seoul in January. While Ishiba stated that “nothing has been decided” regarding the potential trip, several Japanese media outlets, citing diplomatic sources, reported that it may be difficult for him to travel to South Korea at this time.

Senior diplomats in Seoul have scaled back or canceled their activities.

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun returned home, Wednesday, cutting short his trip to Spain and Germany. Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun canceled her planned trip to the United Arab Emirates this week.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul skipped the World Emerging Security Forum in Seoul on Thursday, which was organized by his ministry. He was scheduled to deliver the opening speech at the event.

These developments follow the martial law that Yoon declared in a surprise live briefing on Tuesday night. The declaration was swiftly overturned through a unanimous parliamentary vote of 190 lawmakers early Wednesday.

This incident has emerged as Yoon’s biggest political crisis since taking office in May 2022, as opposition parties filed impeachment motions against the president, accusing him of treason, while civic groups organized protests calling on him to step down.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell attends a trilateral meeting with South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun and Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano in Seoul, Oct. 16. Reuters-Yonhap

The domestic challenges faced by the unpopular president appear to be casting a shadow over relations with South Korea's key ally, the United States.

Officials in Washington, who were not previously informed about the South Korean president's sudden martial law decree, have openly expressed skepticism regarding his decision.

Kurt Campbell, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, said the martial law declaration was “badly misjudged" and "deeply illegitimate."

"I think President Yoon badly misjudged. And I think the memory of previous experiences of martial law have a deep and negative resonance in South Korea,” Campbell said during an Aspen Strategy Forum event, Wednesday (local time).

Campbell noted that both sides of South Korea’s political spectrum found the move "deeply problematic." He also noted this to be a symbol that South Koreans "were prepared to come out and make clear that this was a deeply illegitimate process."

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, commented that Campbell’s unusually harsh tone toward the leadership of a key American ally reflects the unease in Washington over the situation in Seoul.

“The U.S. government typically maintains a low-key, restrained response to the domestic issues of its allies. Campbell's strong remarks seem to signal Washington's disappointment with the martial law declaration that could hurt democratic values, which South Korea has upheld together with the U.S.,” Park said.

Park also said the martial law debacle delivered a fatal blow to Yoon’s leadership, undermining his influence in the nation’s diplomacy at a crucial time when "the government should be focusing its diplomatic efforts to respond to the incoming Trump administration."

Regarding Campbell's remarks, Korea's foreign ministry said it is engaging in necessary communication with the U.S. government at various diplomatic levels.

"The U.S. side has confirmed its ironclad committment to the South Korea-U.S. bilateral alliance," a ministry official said during a closed-door briefing.

Ellen Kim, a senior fellow at the Korea Chair of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), anticipated Seoul's diplomatic setback to continue as impeachment proceedings roil the country.

“By jeopardizing his presidency, Yoon has introduced uncertainty into the future of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan. Even if an interim president steps in following Yoon’s impeachment, few countries will seriously engage with South Korea until a new government is in place,” Kim wrote in an analysis published Wednesday.

“This lost time will come at a steep cost to South Korea,” she added.