(EDITORIAL from The Korea Herald on April 6) | Yonhap News Agency

## Summary
OK Unfinished politics : One year after Yoon's dismissal, legal order restored, but Korea's politics remain divided A year can settle a legal question and yet leave politics unsettled. The ruling camp led by the Democratic Party of Korea has advanced a legislative agenda, including the abolition of the Prosecutor's Office and judicial reforms, using its parliamentary strength to press ahead with limited consultation. Recent Gallup Korea polling places the Democratic Party at 48 percent support against the People Power Party's 18 percent. With Yoon's dismissal one year ago, South Korea has shown it can discipline power when it exceeds legal bounds.

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OK
Unfinished politics
: One year after Yoon's dismissal, legal order restored, but Korea's politics remain divided
A year can settle a legal question and yet leave politics unsettled. On April 4, 2025, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed former President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking a historic turning point.
A year on from the ruling, the verdict has been enforced with unusual speed and severity. The law has spoken with clarity; politics has not.
Yoon has received a life sentence in the first trial for leading an insurrection, while accomplices have been handed combined prison terms totaling 103 years. Multiple investigations have exposed abuses tied to the declaration of emergency martial law.
These outcomes confirm the resilience of South Korea's institutions under strain. Yet the former president's refusal to accept responsibility, and his insistence that his actions served "national salvation," continue to animate a defiant fringe. Legal closure has not dissolved political cleavage.
That chasm now shapes the broader system. The trauma of the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration still frames public debate, often as a question of how thoroughly the past should be purged rather than how the future should be designed.
The ruling camp led by the Democratic Party of Korea has advanced a legislative agenda, including the abolition of the Prosecutor's Office and judicial reforms, using its parliamentary strength to press ahead with limited consultation.
Such moves are defended as the execution of a democratic mandate. Critics see majoritarian impatience, where procedure is treated as an obstacle rather than a safeguard.
The imbalance is compounded by the malaise of the main opposition People Power Party. Recent Gallup Korea polling places the Democratic Party at 48 percent support against the People Power Party's 18 percent.
This 30-point gap suggests the conservative bloc has yet to disentangle itself from the legacy of the insurrection or to present a coherent alternative. Internal divisions persist, while leadership has failed to articulate accountability for the past or a credible program for the future.
Democracy is not designed to function on one side's competence alone. Without a viable opposition, legislative dominance could become a legislative monopoly. The passage of institutional reforms without bipartisan engagement raises questions about durability.
The Constitutional Court, in its dismissal ruling, stressed not only the illegality of Yoon's actions but also the duty of politicians to pursue dialogue and compromise. That instruction has largely gone unheeded.
The debate over constitutional amendment illustrates both urgency and impasse. A coalition of six parties has introduced a revision bill that would tighten constraints on martial law, requiring prompt parliamentary approval and rendering any declaration void within 48 hours without it.
The proposal also seeks to incorporate the spirit of past pro-democracy movements into the preamble and to codify principles of balanced regional development.
On Thursday, President Lee Jae Myung voiced support for a gradual amendment to the Constitution, arguing that widely supported elements should proceed even if broader structural reform remains contested.
Yet the absence of the People Power Party casts a long shadow. Constitutional revision in South Korea demands a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, making opposition participation essential. The PPP has dismissed the initiative as politically timed, while the ruling bloc frames it as a democratic safeguard.
Neither resolves the arithmetic or the legitimacy problem. A Constitution amended without the main opposition party would struggle to command the consensus expected of a foundational text.
With Yoon's dismissal one year ago, South Korea has shown it can discipline power when it exceeds legal bounds. The harder task is to ensure that power operates within a political culture capable of restraint.
The local elections on June 3 and any accompanying referendum on constitutional amendment will test that capacity. Whether reform emerges through agreement or imposition will shape the durability of the system that survived the last crisis.
(END)
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
N/A

### Areas for Consideration
- Critics see majoritarian impatience, where procedure is treated as an obstacle rather than a safeguard.
- This 30-point gap suggests the conservative bloc has yet to disentangle itself from the legacy of the insurrection or to present a coherent alternative.
- Neither resolves the arithmetic or the legitimacy problem.

### Implications
- The trauma of the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration still frames public debate, often as a question of how thoroughly the past should be purged rather than how the future should be designed.
- Internal divisions persist, while leadership has failed to articulate accountability for the past or a credible program for the future.
- Without a viable opposition, legislative dominance could become a legislative monopoly.
- On Thursday, President Lee Jae Myung voiced support for a gradual amendment to the Constitution, arguing that widely supported elements should proceed even if broader structural reform remains contested.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers korea, party, yoon topics. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 890.