U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Wednesday that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol "badly misjudged" his decision to declare martial law this week, and it had been seen as "deeply problematic" and "illegitimate."
Asked at an event organized by the Aspen Strategy Forum whether it was an intelligence failure that Washington was caught unaware by a key ally, Campbell said almost all U.S. interlocutors in South Korea, including in the president's office, were "deeply surprised" by Yoon's move.
Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday night to thwart "anti-state forces" among his domestic political opponents, but rescinded the decision hours later after lawmakers defied him.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that the U.S., which has around 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, was not aware of Yoon's intention to declare martial law.
President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, later told a Washington think tank that the U.S. learned about it "on television, the same way the rest of the world did" and "it raised deep concern for us."
Campbell said the events in South Korea had been "deeply unpredictable and unlikely."
"I think President Yoon badly misjudged. And I think the memory of previous experiences of martial law have a deep and negative resonance in South Korea."
Campbell said the fact that both political sides in South Korea could agree the step was "deeply problematic" despite deep political polarization and division in the country was a reassuring tribute to the strength of democracy in the country.
"This is a powerful symbol of the fact that people were prepared to come out and make clear that this was a deeply illegitimate process and that would be met by the will of the people," he said.
Campbell said South Korea would be "in a challenging place" in the next few months and the U.S. goal would be to make clear its alliance with Seoul is "absolutely rock solid."
He said almost all U.S. interlocutors inside South Korea -- "the foreign minister, the finance minister, many of the key players that we work with in the president's office ... were themselves deeply surprised" by Yoon's move.
South Korea's parliament introduced a motion on Thursday to impeach Yoon over his botched attempt to impose martial law, but his party vowed to oppose the move, throwing the process into doubt.
