State crisis in South Korea

The state crisis in South Korea took an unexpected turn on Friday: President Yoon Seok Yeol, who is accused of sedition and abuse of power, could now be released early. A court in Seoul has ordered his release from pretrial detention. However, the conservative politician has not yet been able to set foot on free soil, as the public prosecutor's office has already filed an appeal.

But regardless of whether he's free or behind bars, Yoon still has to face the two ongoing trials against him. The Constitutional Court is expected to announce by the end of next week whether it will uphold Yoon's impeachment—which would automatically trigger new elections. Then there's the criminal trial for sedition and abuse of power , in which Yoon Suk Yeol faces a long prison sentence if found guilty.

Slowly but surely, South Korea's national crisis is coming to an end. It began in December of last year, when 64-year-old Yoon unexpectedly declared martial law on his country—apparently a knee-jerk reaction to break the ongoing deadlock in parliament with authoritarian force. Yoon argued that the left-wing opposition had acted subversive and had even been infiltrated by communist forces. He provided no evidence.

Rather, the agitated public was reminded of the dark era of the military dictatorship that lasted in South Korea until the end of the 1980s. The democracy that a generation of courageous students fought for at the risk of their lives now seemed to be in jeopardy again. Accordingly, martial law—even though it had to be lifted after a few hours—triggered mass demonstrations against Yoon Suk Yeol .

Spontaneous concert of joy

But his supporters have also been taking to the streets in their tens of thousands every day since then. When the conservative camp learned Friday afternoon that their president might soon be released, the crowd along the iconic Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul organized a spontaneous concert of joy.

For one hardcore supporter, however, the celebratory news came too late: Just two hours before the court's decision was announced, the man set himself ablaze on a roof terrace opposite City Hall. Whether he will survive is still unknown.

For Yoon, the "patriotic" commitment of his supporters undoubtedly represents heroic martyrs in the fight for freedom. If he were released, this would give the national crisis a whole new dynamic at a crucial moment: Yoon would be able to mobilize his supporters much more actively in public and promote his point of view.

Incidentally, this was adopted almost unfiltered and completely uncritically in a recent documentary by public broadcaster. In "Inside South Korea – State Crisis in the Shadow of North Korea and China," the two filmmakers suggest that South Korean democracy is being undermined by communist forces. However, the documentary produced by Phoenix fails to provide any evidence that the left-wing opposition is actually collaborating with Beijing and Pyongyang.

Considerable “shitstorm”

The piece has already triggered a considerable "shitstorm" in South Korean civil society. "We have seen many news and documentaries from foreign media reporting on the important situations in South Korea, but we have never seen content that borders so closely on misinformation," says the non-governmental organization "Article 21 Net," which campaigns against hate speech and censorship on the internet.

"My biggest problem with the ZDF colleagues' report is not only the massive distortion resulting from the uncritical portrayal of ultra-right positions," says German-Korean documentary filmmaker Sung-hyung Cho: "Far more serious is that South Korean ultra-rightists are already actively exploiting the report. In their circles, it serves as alleged proof that the German public is also against the impeachment of President Yoon." On Friday, ARD and ZDF removed the report from their media libraries.