Frontrunner in South Korean Presidential Election Proposes Reforming Martial Law

Voting has already begun in a snap election that was sparked following a disastrous martial law declaration by the previous president in December 2024.

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party's former leader Lee Jae-myung celebrates after winning the nomination as the June 3 presidential election candidate during a party's convention in Goyang, South Korea, on April 27, 2025. Lee Jin-man/AP Photo

The frontrunner in South Korea’s upcoming presidential election proposed on May 30 amending the constitution to make it harder for future presidents to impose martial law.

Lee Jae-myung, the leader in opinion polls at the time of publication, suggested the move in a bid to avert future political crises such as the one that flung the nation into chaos last year.