Well, would you look at that—South Korea just reminded the world what a functioning democracy looks like.
President Yoon Suk Yeol is officially out. Gone. Removed from office. The Constitutional Court didn’t mince words, either. They upheld his impeachment, declaring that Yoon had “committed a grave betrayal of the trust of the people” over his little December stunt—declaring martial law in what was either a power grab or a straight-up audition for a Netflix coup drama. Either way, the court responded with a resounding nope.
Meanwhile, over here in the good ol’ U.S. of A., we’re still busy arguing over whether attempting to overthrow the government is just a “passionate protest” or a legitimate reason to bar someone from holding office. A sitting president literally incited an insurrection, sent a mob after his own Vice President, and tried to nullify an election like it was a bad Yelp review—and he’s not only free, he’s running for re-election. Again.
Let that sink in.
South Korea, a democracy that’s younger than most of our baby boomers, just flexed its constitutional muscles and showed its leader the door for betraying public trust. In contrast, we can’t even get through a news cycle without hand-wringing over whether “accountability might be divisive.”
Spoiler alert: accountability is the point.
The contrast is embarrassing. In Seoul, they had a functioning process. Lawmakers impeached Yoon, and the courts upheld it. No endless filibusters, no cable news shouting matches, no Supreme Court justices ghostwriting op-eds for sitting presidents. Just action. Consequences. Democracy doing what it’s supposed to do.
Here? We’ve turned constitutional crises into spectator sports. We watched January 6th unfold like it was a season finale, waited for indictments like they were Grammy nominations, and now, with a straight face, we’re debating if a man who tried to torch the Constitution should be allowed to take the oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” it again. Are we serious?
Maybe it’s time we admit that the American system isn’t “the envy of the world” anymore—it’s the cautionary tale. While other nations hold their leaders accountable, we hand them microphones and TV spots.
So hats off to South Korea. You showed that democracy isn’t just about voting—it’s about responsibility, integrity, and, yes, sometimes kicking a wannabe strongman to the curb. Meanwhile, America’s over here still trying to decide if democracy is worth defending if it might hurt someone’s feelings.
We could learn a thing or two. Or everything.