Former US Ambassador: US felt “deep disappointment and betrayal” after Yoon declared martial law

Former U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg revealed that after the declaration of martial law, the Yoon Suk-yeol government attempted to justify the insurrection to the United States by placing full blame on the opposition party. He also disclosed, for the first time, details of diplomatic contacts between Seoul and Washington during that period.

Goldberg said he felt a profound sense of betrayal toward former President Yoon, who had spoken of democracy and values-based diplomacy yet deployed troops to the National Assembly. He did not hide his disappointment over the extent to which the Yoon administration damaged the U.S.–Korea alliance.

The sudden declaration of martial law threw the U.S. Embassy into chaos, prompting staff to wake Ambassador Goldberg in the middle of the night.

Goldberg said he was so shocked that he initially thought the call was a scam impersonating the embassy.

When he returned the missed call, Kang In-sun, then Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, answered and, according to Goldberg, immediately read out a statement containing content that was “entirely unacceptable.”

[Philip Goldberg / Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea]
“She read a statement about the situation that was completely unacceptable, and I protested immediately.”

Goldberg said he raised objections on the spot and requested contact with senior officials, but his calls went unanswered.

When he finally managed to reach the Presidential Office, he was merely told to review the president’s public address.

According to Goldberg, the explanation he received overstated the claim that martial law was necessary due to opposition obstruction of governance, thereby attempting to justify the move.

[Philip Goldberg / Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea]
“The official position was that the opposition party had used every possible means to obstruct the government.
<What was the explanation from the Presidential Office?>
The explanation from the Presidential Office was largely along the same lines.”

This marks the first public disclosure of how the Yoon administration sought to win U.S. support for what Goldberg described as illegal martial law.

At the time, the United States had entrusted President Yoon—who frequently spoke of values-based diplomacy—with the role of chair of the Summit for Democracy.

Seeing a leader who claimed to defend democracy instead deploy troops to the legislature left the U.S. side with deep disappointment and a sense of betrayal.

[Philip Goldberg / Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea]
“There was such deep disappointment that people were asking, ‘How could this possibly happen?’ For example, President Biden had personally asked President Yoon to serve as chair of the Summit for Democracy.”

At first light, Goldberg said he requested a call with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.

He explained that the call was meant as a gesture of support to democratic forces that had acted the previous night to nullify the martial law declaration.

[Philip Goldberg / Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea]
“The call to the Speaker was, in a sense, an act of reaching out to the democratic forces that had taken action the night before to invalidate the martial law.”

Goldberg lamented that the insurrectionists failed to understand how deeply democracy is rooted in Korean society, as well as the fact that the international community would never tolerate martial law.

[Philip Goldberg / Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea]
“Former President Yoon misjudged both domestic public opinion and the international community. Europe and the United States would never have tolerated such a measure.”

Goldberg’s testimony, as an eyewitness to the insurrection crisis, underscores once again that undermining democratic values damages not only a country’s international standing but also its alliance relationships.