People participate in a rally calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment near the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 14, when the parliamentary motion to impeach Yoon was passed with 204 votes in favor out of 300. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
For South Koreans, 2024 proved to be more dramatic than previous ones.
On Dec. 14, President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly, less than two weeks after his botched martial law imposition. The political turmoil from the martial law fallout continues as the nation now awaits the Constitutional Court's ruling on Yoon's impeachment.
Partisan conflicts were intense this year, with the majority-holding opposition parties clashing with the governing party at almost every turn. Hospitals were burdened by doctors' prolonged walkout, while schools were shocked by deepfake digital sex crimes targeting teenage girls. Meanwhile, South Koreans endured bizarre provocations from their nuclear-armed northern neighbor — in the form of trash-laden balloons.
Below are 10 defining moments from the nation's political and social scenes that turned the year into a gripping K-drama.
President Yoon Suk Yeol bows during a televised public address from the presidential office in Seoul, Dec. 7. Yoon issued an apology for the chaos arising from his martial law declaration, and said he will not dodge political and legal responsibility. Yonhap
Yoon's fall from grace after short-lived martial law
Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly, Dec. 14, for his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. The military emergency rule — which lasted for only six hours due to parliamentary pushback — dealt a final blow to the already-unpopular president's political career.
Suspended from his duties, the embattled president is facing a lengthy legal battle that will determine his fate in the coming months.
The Constitutional Court is set to begin impeachment trials on Dec. 27, with a ruling required within six months. Law enforcement authorities are expediting investigations into the president on charges of treason and abuse of power.
The fallout from the martial law controversy has caused Yoon's Cabinet and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) to crumble.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is suspected of masterminding the martial law fiasco, has been arrested. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min resigned, while Justice Minister Park Sung-jae was impeached by the Assembly. PPP leader Han Dong-hoon stepped down amid criticism from party members that he failed to prevent the impeachment.
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, front row center, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), applauds with other party members while watching the exit poll results of the April 10 general elections at the National Assembly. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Endless disputes at opposition-dominated Assembly
The opposition bloc secured a landslide victory in the April 10 parliamentary elections, altogether winning 192 out of a total 300 seats. The liberal main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) clinched 175 seats, significantly outperforming its rival, the conservative PPP, which won 108 seats.
The resounding victory paved the way for DPK leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung to emerge as the party's leading presidential candidate. Then-interim PPP leader Han resigned in the aftermath of the elections, only to return in July as the party's official leader.
Holding the majority, the broader opposition bloc wielded its power by railroading contentious bills, such as special probe bills targeting Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee. It also slashed the government's budget proposals. The governing party fought back with filibusters and boycotting of key votes at plenary sessions.
As bipartisan cooperation was virtually nonexistent, progress on critical bills concerning people's livelihoods has been stalled.
A patient watches a press conference by medical workers at Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul, April 1. The workers called for doctors on strike to return as their absence has led to a heavier workload for hospital employees. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Doctors' walkout
In late February, thousands of junior doctors across the nation staged a walkout in the form of mass resignations, in protest of the government's plan to increase the medical school quota by 2,000 slots in 2025.
Despite the government's efforts to negotiate, persuade — or threaten them with criminal punishment — the doctors have yet to return.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said its plans to expand the medical school quota is necessary to address the nation's chronic shortage of doctors, a stance that initially resonated with much of the public. However, the government's somewhat rigid stance on the 2,000-slot increase — without providing detailed justification — has caused public support to wane.
Public frustration over the medical standoff has intensified as scheduling appointments at general hospitals has become increasingly difficult. Concerns about the health care void have been aggravated following multiple incidents where patients in need of urgent medical attention were turned away from understaffed emergency rooms.
Trash balloons heat up inter-Korean tensions
North Korea began engaging in a bizarre provocation tactic in late May by launching balloons carrying garbage across the border. As of December, it has sent more than 7,000 such balloons on 32 different occasions, with the latest one occurring on Nov. 28.
Balloons carrying trash are seen in the skies above Yongsan District, Seoul, July 24. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
North Korea claimed these actions were a tit-for-tat response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by activists based in the South. As Pyongyang continued its balloon launches, the South Korean military responded by blasting propaganda broadcasts, such as K-pop and news critical of the Kim Jong-un regime, through loudspeakers along the border.
Inter-Korean tensions escalated further in October when North Korea accused South Korea of sending military drones into its capital to scatter anti-Pyongyang leaflets. The South Korean military neither confirmed nor denied these allegations.
These developments came after the Kim regime declared a "two-state system" at the beginning of the year, framing the two Koreas as hostile nations.
Posters calling for the eradication of deepfake sex crimes are displayed on the wall at the office of the Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea in Seoul, Nov. 6. Yonhap
Women under threat by deepfake sex crimes
An increasing number of young women and teenage girls have fallen victim to deepfake sex crimes this year, which came to light in August following the revelation of such crimes at Seoul National University.
Deepfakes involve the manipulation of photos and videos to create explicit content that can be circulated on social messengers, such as Telegram. Victims often find their faces superimposed onto obscene images, leading to significant emotional and psychological distress.
According to the National Police Agency, 964 cases of deepfake-related sex crimes were reported nationwide from January to October, while education authorities also reported that more than 880 students have fallen victim to these crimes.
These offenses were especially shocking given South Korea's dark history of digital sex crimes. In 2019, the so-called "Nth Room" case roiled the nation, in which perpetrators blackmailed women, including underage girls, into filming sexually explicit acts.
President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee sit in a vehicle after arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol for their state visit to the Netherlands, Dec. 12, 2023. Yonhap
Scandal-ridden first lady
First lady Kim Keon Hee has made headlines throughout this year, more for bad reasons than good ones.
Kim came under mounting public scrutiny following accusations that she violated anti-graft laws by accepting a Dior handbag from a pastor, after the allegations were first raised in November 2023. She was also mired in a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer, with key suspects convicted in September.
In October, prosecutors cleared Kim of all charges related to the stock manipulation and Dior handbag scandals. This sparked public backlash, with many viewing the prosecutors as being too lenient toward the prosecutor-turned-president and his wife.
Adding to the controversy, Kim was embroiled in new issues involving self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun. Myung, who claimed to have close ties with the presidential couple, is alleged to have interfered in the 2022 by-elections using these connections.
During a press conference in November, Yoon apologized for causing public concern over his wife's controversies but rejected the opposition bloc-led bills to launch a special counsel probe into the allegations.
Rescue workers are seen at the site of a car crash near Seoul City Hall that killed nine people, July 1. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho
Fatal car accident in the heart of Seoul
A deadly car accident near Seoul City Hall on the night of July 1 killed nine people and injured five others, mostly office workers. The sedan, driven by a 68-year-old man surnamed Cha, sped in the wrong direction for about 200 meters on a one-way street before crashing through a sidewalk guardrail.
The vehicle reached a maximum speed of 107 kilometers per hour when it hit the fence, according to authorities.
Cha claimed the accident was caused by sudden unintended acceleration, stating that the brakes were "stiff" and failed to work at the time of the accident. However, after a monthlong investigation, the police concluded that the accident resulted from driver error.
In late August, Cha was indicted on charges of negligence resulting in death under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents. He reportedly denied the charges during his first hearing held on Oct. 11.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, shake hands after signing joint documents during a ceremony at the Kumsusan State Guest House in Pyongyang, June 19. TASS-Yonhap
Kim-Putin bromance blooms
The dangerous bromance between the North Korean leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached its peak this year. When Putin visited Pyongyang on June 19, the two leaders signed a comprehensive strategic partnership, which included a clause on military assistance in the event the other is attacked.
The signing of the deal was followed by speculation that North Korean troops were dispatched to the war in Ukraine at the end of October. Intelligence agencies in South Korea, the United States and Ukraine have confirmed the deployment, while neither North Korea nor Russia has officially admitted it.
The international community speculates that the move is part of a quid-pro-quo arrangement between the two leaders, with Pyongyang potentially receiving financial or military assistance from Moscow — or a combination of both.
Dogs are locked up in a cage on a dog farm in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, March 7, 2023. Korea Times photo by Lee Hyo-jin
Dog meat taken off the menu
The year 2024 saw a significant victory for animal rights in South Korea with the implementation of a ban on dog meat consumption in August. The law aimed to end the decades-long yet fading practice of eating dogs, typically in the form of soup.
The government issued a three-year grace period before the ban is fully implemented, after which slaughtering dogs for consumption will be punishable by up to three years in prison.
However, questions remain about how the government will handle the stalled negotiations with dog traders and farmers, who lamented that the ban threatens their livelihoods.
In September, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs proposed compensating these individuals with up to 600,000 won ($420) per canine, offering the maximum amount to those who shut down their businesses as soon as possible. However, the dog meat traders rejected the plan, demanding compensation of 2 million won per dog.
A park in Yongsan District, Seoul, is covered in snow, Nov. 27, when the nation was hit by the heaviest snowfall in November in 117 years. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Extreme weather strikes
Korea faced extreme weather this year. It endured a sweltering summer marked by its longest streak of tropical nights. The pangovernment emergency disaster response team for heat-related crises was active for 29 consecutive days, the longest period since it was launched.
The heat continued into autumn, with September's average temperature reaching 24.7 degrees Celsius, well above the typical 20.5 degrees Celsius for that month.
The unseasonably warm weather took an abrupt turn when the nation saw one of its heaviest first snowfalls in November. On Nov. 27, nearly 20 centimeters of snow blanketed the capital, marking the heaviest November snowfall since modern weather observations began in 1907. This amount is also rare for the winter season. The heavy snow caused accidents, road closures and traffic disruptions across the country.