{"id":2207415,"date":"2024-12-06T10:22:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T01:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2207415"},"modified":"2024-12-07T20:11:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T11:11:08","slug":"yoons-martial-law-crisis-exposes-beltway-think-tank-blind-spots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/12\/yoons-martial-law-crisis-exposes-beltway-think-tank-blind-spots\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon\u2019s martial law crisis exposes beltway think tank blind spots"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol stunned the world by <\/span>abruptly declaring martial law<\/span><\/a> in response to \u201cpro-North Korea elements\u201d on Wednesday \u2014 only to back down in the face of swift domestic and international backlash.<\/span><\/p>\n While the crisis was short-lived, it marked a disturbing departure from democratic norms in a nation that emerged from authoritarian rule just decades ago. This came from a leader who recently championed the importance of \u201cfreedom\u201d some <\/span>39 times<\/span><\/a> in a single speech.<\/span><\/p>\n But the response from key figures and institutions in Washington\u2019s Korea policy elite has been strikingly muted. Prominent D.C. think tanks with close ties to the South Korean government offered measured critiques couched in praise for the ROK\u2019s democratic resilience, revealing a troubling reluctance to condemn authoritarian actions by a key U.S. ally.<\/span><\/p>\n CAUTIOUS BELTWAY RESPONSE<\/b><\/p>\n CSIS\u2019s Korea Chair Victor Cha assumed a strikingly defensive posture, <\/span>telling CNN three times<\/span><\/a> that Yoon \u201cdid the right thing\u201d by reversing his martial law declaration \u2014 while sidestepping the alarmingly thin justifications for suspending democratic governance in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n An official <\/span>CSIS commentary<\/span><\/a> hailed the \u201cpeaceful resolution of yesterday\u2019s crisis\u201d as proof of the \u201cmaturity and resilience\u201d of South Korean democracy, though it did acknowledge the incident as a \u201csignificant setback\u201d for Yoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Similarly, the Wilson Center\u2019s video commentary on the topic <\/span>framed<\/span><\/a> South Korea as \u201cstill a thriving and expansive democracy,\u201d describing Yoon\u2019s reversal as a defense of the country\u2019s \u201chistorical legacy as a democracy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In a slightly more critical vein, Korea Chair Andrew Yeo of the Brookings Institution commented in a <\/span>Korea Herald<\/span><\/i> interview<\/span><\/a> that the \u201csudden, brash, and somewhat inexplicable decision to declare martial law\u201d undermines South Korea\u2019s claims to values-based diplomacy and its aspirations as a \u201cglobal pivotal state.\u201d But even this critique fell short of directly faulting Yoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the ROK-government-funded <\/span>Korea Economic Institute of America<\/span><\/a> \u2014 a key institution exclusively covering Korea \u2014 has published absolutely nothing on the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n BLUNT CONDEMNATION<\/b><\/p>\n Skeptics argue the light-touch treatment from many D.C. voices stems from cozy ties binding Beltway Korea hands to their South Korean counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe D.C. think tanks dependent on ROK government largesse are now backpedaling to praise Yoon for doing the \u2018right thing\u2019 to lift the martial law he declared by respecting the National Assembly override vote,\u201d wrote veteran Korea watcher Mark Barry on <\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Some non-Beltway Korea analysts, such as Karl Friedhoff and David Kang, attribute this response to an overly positive attitude toward the Yoon administration in D.C. circles.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re anywhere but D.C., Yoon\u2019s presidency has been a disaster from the jump,\u201d Friedhoff <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> on BlueSky. \u201cFolks in D.C. ignored his domestic train wreck because he was playing nice with Japan and sang a song at the White House.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n