Impeachment of the South Korean President in the Taiwanese Media
· Key Takeaways: Taiwan remained neutral through the impeachment process though they understood the intrinsic democratic sentiments in Korea better than most of the rest of the world.
· Taiwan experts rule out a similar abuse of presidential powers since the Taiwanese Constitution requires the declaration of martial law to be approved by the legislature.
Introduction
Taiwan and South Korea both share the status of being advanced liberal democracies in the Third Wave of Democracy. The two countries in the Asia-Pacific Rim are generally considered leading democracies in the Global South with democratic arrangements that are more sophisticated than most of the leading democracies on the planet. This article examines the reaction of the Taiwanese media to the impeachment of South Korea's president, Yoon Sook Yeol between December 2024 and April 2025 when the process was confirmed by the Constitutional Court.
Sections of the Taiwanese media seemed very familiar with the intrinsic sentiments of the Korean people – a feeling most of the world could not understand. Taiwanese media outlets called the Korean issue a “serious political situation” that Taiwanese nationals should not interfere in[1].
These commentators viewed the Korean rallies as a major turning point in the country’s democratic process. A Taiwanese political party that initially supported Yoon after he declared martial law was called out and criticized[2].
In general the Taiwanese people are deeply aware of the severity of the constitutional offenses committed by the South Korean president, but maintained a neutral position.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) stated emphatically that they “respect” the resolutions of the Korean “democratic procedure” [3]. The government went further to warn Taiwanese citizens visiting Korea to avoid taking part in the protests or interfering in the political discourse of the country as Korea.
Taiwanese Media’s Attempt to Understand the Korean Situation
In the apparent decision not to interfere in local affairs, the Taiwanese media hosted many Korean constitutional law experts to take their views on what is going on. These interviews were mainly balanced and sought to avoid covering sensitive partisan issues.
Professor Kyung Moon Hwang, a Korean history expert at the Australian National University was interviewed on Taiwan Plus News. He identified the nature of contemporary Korean political discourse and identified that the unpopular president was supported by fringe populist groups like the Christian nationalists who called the impeachment a “politically driven process”[4]. Opposed to these supporters of the president were the left-wing liberal democracy politicians who called for impeachment and justice.
In-between Prof Hwang identified that there were authoritarians who placed the president’s actions in the dichotomy of “right” and “wrong”. They weighed the actions of the president and his cronies in a relatively more objective manner and concluded that martial law was an impeachable offense. They viewed the actions of the president as an abuse of trust, therefore deserving of an impeachment.
On the other hand, the views of fringe right-leaning Christian nationalists like an isolated preacher were shared in the Taiwanese media[5]. Some of these preachers presented President Yoon’s martial law as a “gift from God” and sought to present President Yoon as a sacrificed righteous leader.
Repeating the Impeachment in Taiwan
Some Taiwanese commentators made it categorically clear that what happened in South Korea “has no place in Taiwan”[6]. This is predicated on the robustness of the Taiwanese constitutional controls of the president’s powers to declare martial law. According to the Taiwanese law, a declaration of martial law must be submitted to the legislature ten days before it comes into force.
Taiwan is also cast as a country that has undertaken more robust constitutional experiments and learned lessons in ways that cannot be repeated. On a personal level, Yoon's impeachment led to speculations about the foreign policy position of the next elected president in international Taiwanese scholarly circles[7]. While this is approximately 60 days away, the foreign policy arrangements of Korea in the East Asia Sea remains topical.
Conclusion
Taiwan’s media reflected a deep understanding and appreciation of the intrinsic sentiments of the Korean people as they stood up against authoritarianism and impeached their president. Taiwan's official position was one of neutrality. The media and elites debated the fundamental drivers of the constitutional crisis in Korea. They respectfully brought on experts on Korea’s politics who explained the key gaps which included the rise of populism and related issues. Taiwan analysts rule out a similar error in Taiwan since the president’s powers to declare martial law are subject to the approval of the legislature.
[1] Bang Jae-hyuk. 'Taiwanese celebrity faces backlash for praising Korea's impeachment rally experience' Published: 19 March 2025. <https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-international/2025/03/19/RZCF5EVK6NDKNP72YUXBSCLYTE/> Accessed: 9 April 2025
[2] The Overseas Community Affairs Council. 'South Korea Martial Law, TaiwanPlus News – News at 18:00, December 4, 2024' Published: 5 December 2024. <https://www.ocac.gov.tw/OCAC/Eng/Pages/Detail.aspx?nodeid=329&pid=71025342> Accessed: 9 April 2025
[3] Taipei Times. 'Taiwan ‘respects’ decision to impeach Yoon: MOFA' Taiwan News. Published: 16 December 2024. <https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/12/16/2003828582> Accessed: 9 April 2025
[4] Prof. Kyung Moon Hwang. 'How Ruling on Yoon Impeachment Affects South Korea's Democracy' TaiwanPlus News. Published: 9 April 2025 <
Accessed: 10 April 2025
[5] Shim Kyu-Seok. 'South Korean pastor vows ‘revolution’ against Yoon’s impeachment' Taipei Times. Published: 13 March 2025. <https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2025/03/13/2003833336> Accessed: 9 April 2025
[6] Chao Yen-hsiang. 'ANALYSIS/South Korea's martial law gambit has no place in Taiwan: Scholars' Focus Taiwan. Published: 7 December 2024. <https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202412070003> Accessed: 9 April 2025
[7] Benjamin Sando. 'What does South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Impeachment Mean for Taiwan?' Global Taiwan Institute Published: 4 April 2025. <https://globaltaiwan.org/2025/04/what-does-south-korean-president-yoon-suk-yeols-impeachment-mean-for-taiwan/> Accessed: 9 April 2025