Notes

Deadlock in Seoul. The constitutional crisis that began with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed martial-law gambit in December continued this week when his wife, former first lady Kim Keon-hee, appeared in court over allegations that the couple exerted undue influence on the conservative People Power Party to nominate a candidate they preferred during the 2022 election. With Yoon himself under arrest on insurrection charges—the first sitting president in South Korean history to get himself in such a situation—the proceedings highlight how deeply the scandal has penetrated the country’s political establishment.

Eight months in, the crisis continues with no resolution in sight—and its effects are radiating: Unemployment spiked in December; the won, South Korea’s currency, has fallen to 15-year lows; and the central bank has cut growth forecasts. More troubling for Seoul’s international standing, the prolonged governmental paralysis has created what analysts have called a “quiet crisis” for the U.S.-South Korea alliance, with critical policy discussions stalled just as the Trump administration moves aggressively on multiple fronts. And domestically, the stakes go way beyond Yoon’s personal fate—to the question of how well South Korea’s 40-year-old democracy can withstand this level of institutional stress without suffering permanent damage.

How bad is it?