How do North Korean workers in China and Russia see South Korea’s impeachment crisis?
Opposition parties in South Korea rally in favor of impeachment of the president. (Image: Yonhap)
North Koreans in China and Russia are showing varied reactions about the uncertainty in South Korea following the martial law declaration by President Yoon Suk-yeol on December 3 and his subsequent impeachment trial.
Unlike their fellow citizens within North Korea, these overseas workers have been exposed to the news to varying degrees and have been freely sharing their opinions.
From March 1 to 5, we conducted phone interviews with three North Korean workers in China and one in Vladivostok, Russia to see what they and their fellow workers thought.
Two of the respondents were critical of the South Korean president for being weak. “If you’re the president, you should be solidly in control, laying a proper foundation and holding onto power,” one said. “How could the president be facing impeachment charges and be labeled a traitor?”
It seemed to the workers that the fact of the impeachment reflected the president’s personal incompetence.
“He can’t even recognize people properly and has no good friends. This was what led to his impeachment,” the other one said.
These reactions appear to stem from a misunderstanding of the relatively weak authority of South Korea’s president when compared to North Korea’s strong centralized leadership under Kim Jong-un.
All four expressed surprise at the authority of the National Assembly in Seoul.
“I realized that the Assembly has more power than the president,” one said. “Our Supreme People’s Assembly is invisible, but it seems like South Korea’s Assembly has the power to shake the country. It’s incredible.”
The Supreme People’s Assembly in the North is largely symbolic, with all power effectively concentrated in Kim’s hands.
Some respondents expressed envy toward South Korea’s democracy. “It’s absurd and yet enviable to see the South Korean president being scrutinized by the National Assembly and even treated as a criminal after ordering the military to move a little,” he said. “Our supreme commander, Kim Jong-un, can send tens of thousands of troops to Russia without anyone daring to object. That’s the reality.”
This reaction reflects admiration for the democratic control of military power in South Korea and an implicit criticism of North Korea’s system, where the supreme leader has absolute control over the military without checks or balances.
Although a very small sampling, experts figured that the reaction expressed was probably typical.
The experts noted that North Koreans were evaluating South Korea’s system based on their experience of an authoritarian regime where absolute power is vested in a single leader. The interviews highlight how exposure to outside information as a consequence of their overseas postings rapidly changes the perception of South Korea’s democracy from the propaganda view that they have grown up with.
For ten years, Seiul served in the North Korean People's Army (KPA), including the 9th Corps. After completing his military service, he taught mathematics at Cheongjin Mining and Metallurgy University. In 2008, he defected to South Korea, where he founded the National Association of North Korean Defectors, an NGO that aims to promote democratization in North Korea and improve human rights. He majored in computer technology at Pyongyang University of Automation, a top state institution known for cyber training and producing hackers for the KPA.
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