Judicial Justice Clears the Darkness of December 3: Completing the 'Time of the Constitution'

A Record of That Unreal Night: December 3, 2024

We can never forget that night. Late in the evening on December 3, 2024, as a typical day was winding down, the breaking news caption "Declaration of Emergency Martial Law" filling the TV screen was a surreal sight that simply could not—and should not—happen in modern South Korea. Many citizens doubted their own eyes at first. A fleeting sense of denial crossed our minds: perhaps it was a sophisticated "deepfake" broadcast made possible by advancing technology, or a cruel, malicious April Fool’s joke. However, the moment the sound of soldiers scaling the walls of the National Assembly and helicopters slicing through the midnight air struck our eardrums, that denial transformed into overwhelming dread and misery.

It was a long night. Watching the urgent movements of parliamentary staff and citizens blocking the entrance to the plenary chamber with their bodies, and lawmakers rushing through cordons to pass the resolution demanding the lifting of martial law, the people of this nation stayed awake all night. The desperate plea—"May Korea’s democracy not stop here," and "May justice not kneel before brute force"—was a historical aspiration that transcended religion and ideology. At dawn, with the sound of the gavel signaling the passage of the resolution, we breathed a sigh of relief, yet the anxiety that the specter of a "second martial law" might rise again weighed heavily on our society for a long time.

443 Days of Patience, and the Weight of the First Verdict

More than a year has passed since that day. From the attempted obstruction of the president’s arrest following the declaration, to the urgent impeachment proceedings at the Constitutional Court, and up until today, we have watched every moment of this historical scene without blinking. Today’s "life imprisonment" sentence handed down by the Seoul Central District Court to former President Yoon Suk-yeol is not merely the punishment of an individual. It is a solemn reaffirmation by the judiciary of Article 1 of our Constitution: "The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea shall reside in the people, and all state authority shall emanate from the people."

The court clearly defined this incident as a "typical case of rebellion (insurrection) aimed at subverting the basic state organization for the purpose of disturbing the constitutional order." It emphasized that using the authority of the Commander-in-Chief—granted by the office of the Presidency—to trample upon the National Assembly, the heart of democracy, cannot be beautified by any political rhetoric. This judicial decision has once again awakened the simple yet grand truth: that power does not come from the barrel of a gun, but from the consent of the people and constitutional procedures.

Source: Sky News

Toward the End of Conflict and the Establishment of Justice

Of course, today’s verdict does not mark the end of all controversy. The defense has immediately signaled its intent to appeal, and segments of our society trapped in partisan logic may continue to attempt to deny this judgment. However, we must remember that true justice does not end with merely sending a perpetrator to prison. The true completion of justice lies in clearly recording the wrongs of the past and building institutional and cultural breakwaters to ensure such errors are never repeated.

The "trauma" experienced by citizens that night must now transition into a stage of "judicial healing." Rather than using this verdict as a tool for political warfare, the political sphere must reflect on why our constitutional system was so easily shaken by the dogmatism of a single individual. The extreme division and confusion our society has endured since the December 3 incident was a tragic waste of national resources. Now, under the clear legal definition of "rebellion," we must stop unproductive conflicts and unite our strength to restore destroyed democratic values.

A Painful History That Must Not Be Repeated

The reason painful history repeats itself is that we fail to properly engrave its lessons. The tragedy of hearing the sound of military boots again in 2024, after enduring the pains of 1979, must be severed in our generation. Today’s verdict on the crime of rebellion will serve as the most powerful warning and textbook for our descendants, teaching them that "any attempt to destroy the Constitution in the Republic of Korea will inevitably be punished."

We have marched toward this day with a heart longing for justice to stand upright. The candles and prayers of nameless citizens who worried for democracy while staying awake all night were the driving force that brought about today’s verdict. We may set down the heavy burden now, but we must not avert our watchful eyes. It is our earnest hope that this sentencing will wash away the scars of our society and serve as a milestone leading us beyond conflict toward true integration and peace.

Democracy is not a finished product, but a process that must be constantly nurtured and defended. Today, we have turned a precious page in that great process. We pray for an era where darkness can no longer overcome the dawn, where justice silences injustice, and where the Constitution forever governs power.