South Korea snap election live: Lee Jae-myung, Kim Moon-soo face off
It all boils down to one thing – Yoon Suk-yeol's botched martial law decree.
The former president, who narrowly won the last presidential election in 2022, was supposed to serve for five years. But his declaration of martial law on December 3 – which brought armed soldiers onto Seoul's streets, evoking traumatic memories of past military rule – prompted the opposition-controlled National Assembly to impeach him that same month.
The Constitutional Court upheld the decision on April 4 in a move that obliged the country's caretaker leaders to call a presidential election within 60 days.
Yoon has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.
He has described his decree as a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which obstructed his agenda and impeached top officials.
The decree lasted only six hours as enough legislators, including from Yoon's party, managed to enter the parliament house and vote it down.
It unleashed political chaos, however, including mass protests, a riot at a courthouse and three caretaker leaders in six months.
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