IN a matter of days, South Korea has descended into political limbo following a leadership crisis that has deeply divided the nation.It began when President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked everyone by declaring martial law on Dec. 3, accusing the opposition-ruled parliament of establishing a 'legislative dictatorship' that has undermined the country's democratic order.Yoon couldn't have chosen a worse time to make such a drastic decision: the country's economy was under severe pressure, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un was once again flaunting his nuclear weapons capability.In the event, Yoon's martial law regime was short-lived. Public outrage quickly spread, fueling calls for his ouster. A defiant parliament struck back and, on Dec. 14, voted to impeach Yoon. It also named as acting president Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.Han, however, also got the axe two weeks later for, among other issues, biding his time in setting up an independent investigation into Yoon's martial law decree.Han relinquished power to the deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok. Choi wasted no time in ordering prosecutors to arrest Yoon, but the presidential security service prevented the serving of the warrant, saying the prosecutors 'unlawfully intruded' into his residence.The situation escalated as hundreds of demonstrators supporting and opposing the ex-president faced off in the streets of Seoul.Now the entire country is on tenterhooks over what will happen next. If arrested, Yoon will likely be charged with insurrection, a crime that is not covered by presidential immunity. If convicted, he faces a prison sentence or even the death penalty.South Korea has weathered crises before. It survived a sharp economic downturn in 1998, considered the most critical national crisis since the Korean War.The 1997 Asian financial crunch drove several chaebols or Korean industrial fiefdoms into bankruptcy, but the economy rebounded.But no political crisis has been as divisive as the one South Korea is going through now. And its allies, particularly the United States, are keenly monitoring developments.The US has unquestionably the biggest stake in South Korea. It led to a UN force that foiled an attempt by China-backed North Korea to overrun the entire peninsula in 1950. It has since maintained a large military presence in South Korea, rotating at least 24,000 troops in nine major bases it established there.Washington is even more concerned now as Kim Jong Un has been cozying up to Russia's strongman Vladimir Putin. Kim has even sent a contingent of North Korean troops to fight alongside Russian forces in the war in Ukraine.Japan, too, is nervously keeping an eye on the situation unfolding in Seoul. The two neighbors share cultural and economic ties. But what matters most is their military alliance against a common enemy, North Korea.The Philippines must also keep tabs on developments in South Korea. The two countries go a long way back. Close to 1,500 Filipino soldiers fought under the UN flag in the Korean War. Today, about 36,000 Filipinos are working in that country.Just last month, the Philippines and South Korea signed a free trade agreement that gives preferential treatment to a raft of Philippine products, including bananas and pineapples, and relaxes restrictions on Korean companies seeking to set up shop in the Philippines.Until the fate of Yoon is determined, South Korea's political leadership will be adrift in what observers described as 'uncharted territory.'Yoon may not be the first South Korean president to be impeached, but he could become the first sitting president to be arrested. The country's Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to decide to oust him as president or restore his powers.Experts said prosecutors need greater legal justification before attempting to arrest Yoon again.'It may be challenging to carry out the arrest until the Constitutional Court rules on the impeachment motion and strips him of the presidential title,' one political analyst noted.Unless the leadership vacuum is filled soon, the Seoul government will lose its 'ability to navigate difficult foreign policy issues and to address outstanding national security threats from across the border.'It is a vulnerability that South Korea can ill afford.
