Rarely has a politician so completely destroyed his career in so little time. In the space of about six hours, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared and then abandoned martial law. In a country with a long heritage of military rule, he bungled the attempt, as legislators outwitted Special Forces troops deployed to seize the National Assembly building and “drag out the people” by voting to overturn his decision. His attempt to override political opposition to him and his budget by imposing military rule in peacetime violated his nation’s constitution, triggering his impeachment and indictment.

Here Democrats only imagined sending the police to battle the Secret Service to arrest Trump. In South Korea, fantasy has become reality.
Even if he is restored to office — he has been suspended while the Constitutional Court acts like the U.S. Senate and decides on his removal — his authority has dissipated. He had just 17 percent approval before claiming dictatorial powers and even many members of his own party have since abandoned him. Democracy has survived, but the country’s bitter partisan divide has deepened and may be even more visceral than America’s.
In recent days Seoul has showcased an ongoing confrontation between presidential bodyguards and police officers. The latter arrived to arrest him but were barred from entering his residence by the Presidential Protective Service, the South Korean equivalent of the Secret Service.
A crowd of his beleaguered supporters also showed up, attempting to prevent his arrest. Some waved American flags in a bizarre plea for American intervention. In fact, no one outside knew if he was even home, so completely has the disgraced politico disappeared from public life. The police are now investigating PPS personnel and may bring charges against them.
Theoretically, the acting president should be able to order the PPS to stand down but he may not have control over the residence of Yoon, who remains president, though suspended. In...