The Crisis in South Korea Is Escalating – The United States Must Not Remain Silent as South Korea Slips into Communism

The international discussion about former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, largely echoed Western media reports, labeling it an “authoritarian overreach” or an “unconstitutional power grab.” While such criticisms deserve attention, what many reports overlooked is that evidence of coordinated cyber offensives by North Korea and China had already been confirmed. This omission removes the essential security context necessary to understand Korea’s crisis.

In August 2025, two American hackers infiltrated North Korea’s hacking organization Kimsuky and released 8.9GB of internal data. The leaked records included targeted attacks against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Kebi mail system, the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and critical defense infrastructure in South Korea. Even more shocking, the files showed that Kimsuky conducted joint operations with Chinese state-backed hackers, sharing tools and infrastructure. This directly confirmed former President Yoon’s statement in December of last year that “the Republic of Korea is under hybrid warfare.”

China’s interference has also been overt. On August 19, 2025, China’s state-run Global Times warned that “Korea–U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, if linked to military operations, could pose a potential threat.” On July 31, former Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming publicly demanded in Seoul that the government “crack down on far-right youth groups.” Shortly thereafter, Liberty University — a domestic group with no citizen complaints filed against it — became the subject of a police investigation. This marked a precedent where the demands of a foreign government directly dictated domestic law enforcement, a grave violation of sovereignty.

However, when martial law was declared, most foreign press reduced it to a simple domestic power struggle. While the National Assembly’s swift decision to revoke martial law carries legal significance, ignoring the simultaneous external security threats distorts reality. For an allied nation facing joint North Korea–China cyber and political offensives, this is a matter that goes far beyond partisan conflict.

The impeachment of former President Yoon on April 4, 2025, was also carried out in haste. Critics argue that the Democratic Party has since weaponized legislative and judicial powers to dismantle Yoon’s influence. This undermines constitutional order and threatens the rule of law in one of Washington’s key Indo-Pacific allies.

The pattern of systematically suppressing political opposition is also seen in the police raid against the Committee for Preventing Election Corruption, led by former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. Although it was a lawfully registered election-monitoring group, police fabricated allegations of “election interference” to justify the raid. This mirrors the same nature of persecution directed at Yoon himself, ultimately destroying electoral transparency and public trust.

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The human-rights situation is even more dire. Both former President Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, are imprisoned. Despite suffering from diabetes and an eye disease threatening blindness, Yoon is confined to a solitary cell of just 64 square feet with severely restricted medical access. Meanwhile, his wife is detained on political grounds, leaving him deprived of even basic family support.

On August 7, 2025, special prosecutors attempted to re-arrest Yoon — already in custody — forcibly dragging him out and injuring his back and arms in the process. Even during outside hospital visits, he was shackled with an electronic ankle bracelet and handcuffs — humiliation no former Korean president has ever endured.

Yoon told his lawyers, “Prosecutors seem intent on humiliating me into making a bad choice.” Courts criticized the prosecution’s verbose indictments, and political figures such as Kim Moon-soo and Na Kyung-won. The Fact: warned of prosecutorial abuse. U.S. human rights lawyer Morse H. Tan was even denied visitation rights.

From the author’s perspective, this is not simply the imprisonment of one politician. It sends a chilling message to the entire Korean people: “If you resist power, this is the fate you may face.” Ultimately, it means the collapse of freedom and the rule of law in the country.

South Korea’s structural vulnerabilities further worsen the crisis. With the dismantling of the National Intelligence Service’s counterespionage authority, foreign spy activities can no longer be properly investigated, and corporate trade secrets leaked abroad face virtually no legal response. Even when national secrets or technologies are sold to China, offenders cannot be prosecuted under espionage laws. And even if convictions occur, sentences are notoriously lenient compared to international standards, providing no deterrent effect. These systemic loopholes, combined with external threats, have made Korea more vulnerable — and ultimately explain why Yoon made the controversial but context-driven decision to declare martial law.

Internationally, such hybrid warfare tactics are not unique. Russia’s interference in Ukraine’s 2019 elections and China’s judicial pressure on Hong Kong in 2020 are representative examples.

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The situation in South Korea is not a mere domestic political crisis but a textbook case of hybrid warfare: adversaries exploiting internal divisions to dismantle an allied democratic system.

Therefore, the international community must reframe its perspective as follows:

Martial law must be evaluated within the broader context of foreign interference, not solely domestic politics.

The imprisonment and human rights violations against Yoon and Kim require immediate investigation by the international community.

Allied nations must support strengthening Korea’s counterespionage capacity and safeguarding constitutional governance.

This is about ensuring accountability within the rule of law, free from external coercion, and protecting liberty. Korea’s struggle is ultimately part of a larger battle for sovereignty, human rights, and stability across the Indo-Pacific.

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What makes this crisis even more alarming is that it is not limited to cyberattacks, foreign interference, or judicial distortion. The domestic political landscape itself is shifting in a dangerous direction, amplifying the crisis.

Despite being a key Indo-Pacific ally, South Korea is rapidly sliding toward communism. Top political leaders and radical groups openly voice anti-American and pro-socialist rhetoric, while bias in education, media, and labor unions is becoming institutionalized. The ruling power is reinforcing a pro-China, anti-American line and institutionalizing it further.

This is not just a political trend but a transformation of the system. Communist narratives are seeping into Korea’s institutions, not through public consensus but through the ideological ambitions of those in power. Silence from the United States will amount to passively allowing Korea’s loss of freedom.

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On August 21, 2025, Kim Min-woong, elder brother of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, wrote on Facebook:

Education Minister nominee Choi Gyo-jin shared the post, adding, “I empathize and share.”

This is not the remark of a fringe activist. The Prime Minister’s own brother openly endorsed a North Korean–style socialist narrative, and the nominee for national education publicly supported it.

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Teachers, lawyers, civic groups, labor unions, and radical youth organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea are openly praising socialism and spreading anti-American propaganda. Moreover, Democratic Party lawmakers have themselves joined street protests, signaling institutional cooperation with radical forces that denounce the United States and glorify socialism.

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The radical Progressive University Students’ Union (Daejinyeon) is not merely a protest group. For years, it has carried out organized anti-American agitation, repeatedly storming the U.S. Embassy and U.S. military bases in Korea. This is beyond freedom of expression; it constitutes a direct and sustained threat to diplomatic and security interests.

July 30, 2025: Members tore the American flag in front of the U.S. Embassy while shouting anti-American slogans .

June 20, 2023: Eighteen members scaled the wall of the Yongsan U.S. military base for a surprise protest.

September 2024: The then-leader of the group scaled the wall of the U.S. Ambassador’s residence, but the court handed down only a suspended sentence.

Such repeated intrusions into U.S. diplomatic and military facilities constitute acts of sovereignty violation under international law. Yet, Korean courts have consistently released them on the grounds of “no flight risk” or handed down suspended sentences, effectively granting them impunity.

From the author’s perspective, this is not mere judicial leniency but evidence of collusion between leftist forces and a judicial cartel that protects radical anti-American activists. As a result, Daejinyeon continues its bold actions without fear of punishment, revealing how far-left anti-American movements are institutionally tolerated and even shielded in Korea.

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These incidents are not isolated. They reveal a dangerous ideological shift inside South Korea:

Pro-socialist narratives infiltrating government power

Radical movements attacking American symbols in the streets

The ruling party aligning with anti-American groups

Even more troubling is that the U.S. Embassy in Seoul has failed to fulfill its role, remaining passive while the alliance deteriorates on the ground.

Immediate and firm measures are needed to defend the alliance, protect U.S. interests, and support the Korean people resisting this radical turn.