Harvard Affiliates Call on South Korean President to Resign Over Martial Law Declaration

More than 30 South Korean Harvard affiliates called on Yoon Suk Yeol, the country’s president, to resign after he briefly declared martial law, prompting thousands of people to protest outside the National Assembly in Seoul.

The affiliates blasted Yoon’s decision to impose martial law in a statement released Tuesday night, writing that the move was “an undemocratic act that should never have occurred.”

The statement, which was signed by 35 South Korean students and one faculty member at Harvard, denounced Yoon for damaging South Korea’s reputation on the international stage.

“Here at Harvard, South Korea is often described as a model of successful democratic development,” the statement read. “Yet, today, we fear that the perception of South Korea among our peers and the international community could be seriously damaged.”

A spokesperson for Yoon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yoon announced his decision to impose martial law in a stunning address to the nation Tuesday night, accusing his political opponents of paralyzing the government by impeaching government officials and vowing to protect the country from “falling into ruin.”

The declaration swiftly drew national condemnation, prompting thousands of protesters to take to the streets and 190 of the country’s federal lawmakers — including members of Yoon’s own party — to vote to lift the martial law.

By Tuesday afternoon, Yoon relented and agreed to lift the martial law.

Students from seven of Harvard’s 13 schools signed onto the statement. Harvard Medical School professor Kee B. Park was the sole faculty member to sign the statement.

In the statement, the students and Park wrote that Yoon “failed to provide a proper justification for invoking martial law and violated procedural legitimacy.”

“By deploying military forces to the National Assembly, he has also endangered the democratic principle of the separation of powers,” the group wrote.

The statement is not the first time Yoon has been protested by Harvard affiliates. When Yoon visited the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School in May 2023 for a talk titled “Pioneering a New Freedom Trail,” protesters gathered outside the talk’s venue holding signs that called Yoon a “traitor” and a “U.S. military puppet.”

During the talk at Harvard, Yoon discussed how South Korea could protect itself against a growing nuclear stockpile across the border in North Korea.

In the statement, the students highlighted Yoon’s speech at the IOP and slammed his declaration of martial law as being inconsistent with the values of liberal democracy and freedom that he had preached just under two years prior in Cambridge.

“We are asking President Yoon: Was today’s declaration of martial law truly in line with the ‘new journey toward freedom’ that you had talked about?” the group wrote.

“We, 36 Korean students and faculty members of Harvard University, call on President Yoon Suk Yoon to prove that the liberal democracy you professed to uphold still exists in South Korea by voluntarily resigning from office,” they added.

—Staff writer William C. Mao can be reached at william.mao@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @williamcmao.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.