ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
Now to South Korea, where a motion to impeach the president has failed in parliament. The president briefly declared martial law this week but was forced to cancel it by opposition lawmakers. It leaves one of Asia's leading democracies and a key American ally immersed in political chaos and uncertainty. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from Seoul. Good morning, Anthony.
ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Hi, Elissa.
NADWORNY: So update us on this impeachment effort.
KUHN: Well, ruling party lawmakers - that's the president's party - boycotted the vote. So the parliament did not get a quorum of 200 out of 300 lawmakers. And although the opposition parties have a majority in parliament, they don't have a two-thirds majority, so they couldn't have a valid vote. Opposition lawmakers say they're going to keep trying, keep submitting impeachment bills until one of them passes, but this one is pretty much finished.
NADWORNY: You were in parliament today. What was it like?
KUHN: I couldn't make it in. I was struggling to get through the massive crowds outside.
NADWORNY: Wow.
KUHN: Organizers estimated a million people there. Police put it at less than 150,000. It certainly reminded everybody of 2017 when there were huge protests when South Korea's first female president, Park Geun-hye, was impeached and later jailed on corruption charges. Many of the people I spoke there with said they felt that they owed it to themselves and to their families and to history to be there. I spoke to a 60-year-old retired teacher named Lee Yinson (ph), and when she was a college student in the 1980s, students who protested against the then-military government were often arrested, beaten and tortured. And here's what she said.
LEE YINSON: (Speaking Korean).
KUHN: She said, "Seeing martial law declared this week, all the nightmares from that time came back. I couldn't sleep, and I was speechless for days. I became a teacher later, and I think I've had a comfortable life since, and that times have changed. But this feeling of returning to the '80s, the rage was unbearable." We should note that Yoon supporters, President Yoon Suk Yeol supporters were also out there holding their demonstrations, and that's a reminder that the country is politically deeply divided and polarized.
NADWORNY: Yeah. Anthony, what have lawmakers been saying about the president declaring martial law on Tuesday night?
KUHN: Well, they say that martial law is supposed to be declared in case of emergencies like war or natural disasters. Yoon said he declared it because the opposition was blocking his bills, dogging him and his wife over corruption scandals. And opposition lawmakers say he tried to use the military to arrest top lawmakers, which you can't do under martial law. Earlier today, President Yoon apologized for trying to impose martial law, and he said he wouldn't try it again, but he didn't admit to doing anything illegal.
NADWORNY: What does this political uncertainty mean for the relationship between South Korea and the U.S.?
KUHN: Well, it looks like Yoon is going to keep his job for now, but his problem is that polls in South Korea show that 70% of the people think he should be impeached, and so it's highly likely that large-scale protests will continue. Now, the U.S. counts on South Korea for many things - investment in trade, dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue and it generally sees South Korea as an ally that helps it to promote democracy and defend the liberal international order. But South Korea may be consumed - possibly for months - with defending its own democratic order.
NADWORNY: Thank you. NPR's Anthony Kuhn in Seoul. Thanks for your reporting on this political chaos.
KUHN: You're welcome, Elissa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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