President Yoon Suk Yeol [Yonhap News file photo]

Regarding the political turmoil that followed the declaration of emergency martial law on December 3, American political columnist Gene Cummins has made remarks sharply criticizing the South Korean political landscape. 

In a Facebook post on the 24th, Gene Cummins provided a detailed analysis of the backdrop of President Yoon’s declaration of martial law, stating, "President Yoon Suk Yeol is a 'foolish' hero who sacrificed everything to alert the public to national crises, suspected election fraud, and corruption within state institutions."

The Sole Purpose of Martial Law Was to Reveal the Truth

Gene Cummins completely rejected the "insurrection" and "coup" frames regarding the incident in which President Yoon declared emergency martial law and deployed the military to the National Election Commission and the National Assembly.

"If President Yoon had truly intended to overthrow the state, he would have used force against the unarmed National Assembly and politicians and pressed the martial law until the end," he argued. "The fact that the military withdrew immediately upon the National Assembly's demand to lift martial law is evidence that the true purpose of the emergency martial law was not to seize long-term power, but to directly inform the public of the national crisis."

Regarding President Yoon's character, he commented that the President is "a man too kind and sincere to crush a nation with force," and that he made a "naive choice" to risk his own safety to share the truth with the people, knowing full well he would likely not succeed.

Choosing to Protect the Nation at the Expense of His Own Well-being

Gene Cummins did not spare criticism for the South Korean political sphere and the public. He labeled the politicians surrounding the President as "cowards who betrayed him or pretended not to know for the sake of their own political survival," and criticized the public, stating, "They fail to recognize the sacrifice of a President who sought to alert them to a national crisis."

He observed that "even though he could have enjoyed the wealth and glory of a former president had he not declared martial law, he chose the path of imprisonment himself," viewing President Yoon’s actions as a sacrificial decision to protect the Republic of Korea, the likes of which had not been seen since President Park Chung-hee.

He added, "Though they may blame and ridicule him now, a day will come in the distant future when the people of South Korea will realize they owe him a great debt and will feel deep, painful remorse."

Failure to Retain Power Due to Traitors and Public Responsibility

He also drew a firm line regarding the "Yoon Suk Yeol responsibility theory" raised by some in the right-wing camp. He argued that the loss of power was not due to the President's failures, but rather the fault of a public that misunderstood and abandoned his patriotism, and treacherous politicians blinded by their own self-interest.

Gene Cummins urged, "President Yoon Suk Yeol is a fool who gave up everything because he could not abandon the people who had abandoned him. Since we owe him so much, we must protect him until the end and never give up on him, no matter how long it takes."

Below is the full text of Gene Cummins' remarks.

Politicians who do not take the lead in uncovering suspected election fraud in South Korea are either cowards who have benefited from election rigging, or those who pretend not to know for fear of suffering political consequences if they speak up.

Among all the past presidents of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol is the only one who has been suppressed and imprisoned for attempting to directly inform the public about the corruption of state institutions and criminal suspicions regarding the election management system.

President Yoon is also the only president who has directly warned the public about China's infiltration into South Korean politics, elections, state agencies, and core technologies, and who has taken steps to stop it.

President Yoon Suk Yeol is a man who sacrificed himself to protect the nation even while knowing he would likely face political persecution.

He already knew he would be politically attacked by traitors and eventually become the target of massive suppression himself. However, while in office, he learned that the Republic of Korea was being seized by communist forces and falling into an irreversible crisis. The forces that realized his intent to inform the public of this mobilized every means possible to isolate him.

They focused on removing President Yoon's aides one by one, and cowardly, shameless politicians—hoping to survive without being purged—chose to betray Yoon and flatter the opposition forces to ensure their own political survival.

Yoon Suk Yeol must have thought his political life was already over. His limbs had been cut off, and there were more people around him who betrayed him or remained silent than those who stood to protect him.

In that situation, the last thing he decided he could do was declare emergency martial law and inform the people directly of the national crisis he was aware of.

President Yoon Suk Yeol must have also known that this attempt would not succeed. Nevertheless, he was the first to send the military to the National Election Commission and the National Assembly.

If, as his opponents claim, Yoon had intended to stage an insurrection, overthrow the government, and invade North Korea, he would not have backed down at that point. Instead, he would have used weapons to forcibly suppress the political factions inside the National Assembly and pushed the martial law through to the end.

The people inside the National Assembly at the time were unarmed, while the soldiers sent by Yoon were forces capable of using weapons. This means he could have mobilized the military to seize the National Assembly and use force to suppress resisting politicians if he had intended to.

However, the martial law troops merely attempted to enter the National Assembly; they did not exercise actual force against the lawmakers. When the National Assembly demanded the lifting of emergency martial law, the military withdrew immediately, and the martial law was lifted. Why? Because the only purpose was to reveal the truth.

How can this be called an insurrection to overthrow the state or a coup for long-term military rule?

Rather, if one is to criticize President Yoon, they should point out why he did not push through to the end once he started, and why, despite judging the nation to be in such grave danger, he withdrew himself without actually suppressing anything.

That was Yoon Suk Yeol’s limitation.

President Yoon Suk Yeol was neither an aggressive person capable of invading North Korea, nor was he cold-hearted enough to suppress communist forces within the government by force.

Have you ever looked closely into his eyes?

His character is pure, affectionate, kind, and sincere. Such a person cannot force himself to use violence to overthrow a nation or trample on its people.

That is why I believe he is a hero who sincerely loved his country and its people.

And he is a fool.

He made that choice with the naive belief that he just needed to inform the people of the facts, knowing he would not succeed and would face political counterattacks and eventual persecution.

Where else can you find someone so foolish?

Why did he sacrifice everything to protect a country overflowing with people who think there is no problem even when their individual rights are infringed upon by election fraud, and a country that protects criminal groups that mock and suppress those who raise questions about state institutions and election management systems?

The Republic of Korea is a country where the majority are people who are ungrateful, unaware, and think it is fine to hand the country over to those suspected of crimes as long as they themselves are well-fed.

President Yoon Suk Yeol is a fool.

Why should he have to suffer like that in prison?

If he had not declared emergency martial law, he could still be enjoying the wealth and glory of a former president. If he had not tried to warn the people of the national crisis and instead only protected his own well-being, he and his wife would not be in prison.

He could have lived like Lee Jae-myung and Kim Hye-kyung, enjoying luxury with the taxpayers' money and going on trips.

But President Yoon Suk Yeol did not do that.

He stepped forward to protect the country for the sake of a people who cannot even recognize who the only hero to appear in the Republic of Korea since President Park Chung-hee is, and he ultimately chose the path that led to his and his wife’s imprisonment.

How much of a fool is President Yoon Suk Yeol, then?

He could not abandon the people who abandoned him to the end, and he gave up his presidency, honor, freedom, and family to protect the very people who mock him.

Koreans may blame and ridicule him now, but one day, in the distant future, the people of the Republic of Korea will realize they owe a great debt to the man who threw himself away and sacrificed everything to protect the nation, and a day of painful repentance will come.

Some on the right say:

That because of Yoon Suk Yeol, power was handed over to Lee Jae-myung, and therefore all responsibility lies with Yoon Suk Yeol.

But I do not think so.

Those who handed the government over to Lee Jae-myung were the people who misunderstood President Yoon Suk Yeol’s patriotism and abandoned him, and the filthy, foul-smelling, shameless politicians who betrayed him for their own political survival.

President Yoon Suk Yeol is truly a fool.

That is why we must protect him to the end.

No matter how long it takes, and no matter how difficult and exhausting it may be, we will never give up.

While he endures painful days in a cold prison relying only on God, we too will not give up and will hold on until the end.

Because we owe him far too much.

◆ Gene Cummins 

American political columnist. After working at Channel 13 in Baltimore, Maryland, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the 'Sunday Times' (1994–1996) and Business Director of 'The Korean Weekly' (1996–2000), and later founded the 'Asia Post'. Currently, he serves as co-editor of The Korea Signal, a media outlet specializing in U.S.-Korea policy and security analysis.