S. Korea’s Lee says martial law perpetrators must face justice

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday there was still work to be done to address the fallout of the failed martial law bid by his predecessor a year ago, and the country needed to ensure the perpetrators were brought to justice.

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Marking the first anniversary of the shock announcement of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, Mr. Lee said former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s action had threatened an irreparable setback to the country, but the people rose up and stopped the military with their bare hands.

“The recklessness of those who tried to destroy constitutional order and even plan a war all for their personal ambitions must be brought to justice,” he said.

“The Dec. 3 coup detat was not just a crisis for democracy in one country. If democracy in South Korea collapsed, it would have meant a setback... for world democracy.”

Mr. Yoon’s martial law declaration plunged a country that had been viewed as a democratic success story into months of political turmoil, just as US President Donald J. Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on global trading partners rattled South Korea’s export-reliant economy.