Lawsuits, scandals, armed troops and a knife-wielding attacker all failed to deter Lee Jae-myung's ascendancy from sweatshop worker to the South Korean presidency. Lee lost his 2022 bid for the presidency to Yoon by one of the smallest margins in South Korean history.

South Korea’s soon-to-be former president, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared martial law during the late hours of December 3, citing the “anti-state forces” that had allegedly infiltrated the government. President Yoon then promised to “rebuild and protect a free South Korea which is falling into the depths of national ruin.”