Shortly before 11 p.m. local time, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday. Shortly thereafter, General Park Ahn-Soo, the martial law commander, announced that “all political activities” would be banned and that “all media and publications would be under the control of the Martial Law Command.”

Within three hours, lawmakers and protesters gathered outside the National Assembly while soldiers tried to block the entrances. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, was shown on the livestream climbing over a wall to enter the building. Within five hours, 190 lawmakers unanimously repealed Yoon’s decree. And within six hours of the president announcing his seizure of power, Yoon gave a second televised address ending his declaration of martial law. The opposition filed impeachment proceedings against Yoon on Wednesday afternoon, and a vote is possible as early as Thursday.

The exploits of the Democratic-led South Korean opposition were a welcome and riveting sight for democracy supporters around the world. And they were a lesson for Democrats and other Trump opponents in America.

It may seem superficial to interpret another country’s crisis directly in terms of the American political system. But the parallels between the political situation in both countries are more than uncanny. Yoon narrowly defeated Lee in 2022 with just under 50 percent of the vote. “The political newcomer has been compared to former US President Donald Trump and was prone to gaffes throughout the campaign,” the BBC reported at the time. “He had to walk back a comment that authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan, who was responsible for the massacre of protesters in 1980, was ‘good at politics’.”

Analysts told The New York Times that Yoon’s victory was “more of a referendum on the failures of his liberal predecessor than an endorsement of Mr. Yoon.” Rising inequality and rising real estate prices fueled voter discontent with both politicians and immigrants. Yoon courted young men who were angry at feminists and the MeToo movement. And while in office, he frequently referred to his critics as “communists” and the media as “fake news.”

Does this sound familiar?

Compare the six hours it took South Koreans to prevent the collapse of their democracy with the aftermath of January 6, 2021. It took Democrats five days to introduce articles of impeachment in the House of Representatives. Although Article 218 had co-sponsors who guaranteed its passage, the vote did not take place until two days later. The impeachment trial took place only five weeks after the insurrection attempt and three weeks after Trump left office.

The delay gave conservatives time to solidify their defense of Trump once the initial shock wore off. And when Trump was no longer president, Republicans like Senator Mitch McConnell had another excuse for acquittal. “The issue is moot because former President Trump is constitutionally ineligible for conviction,” he said, arguing that the former president could instead be held accountable by the criminal justice system.

Now Trump will return to the White House — and, thanks to the Supreme Court, with sweeping new protections from prosecution. In other words, it turns out that a united opposition that quickly and decisively repudiates would-be authoritarians works better than taking a few weeks and hoping things work out for the best.

For all the similarities between Yoon and Trump, one difference between the two countries is that while South Korea’s Democratic Party controlled the legislature, Republicans still held the Senate in the crucial hours and days after the attack on the Capitol. It wasn’t until January 20, when Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president, that Democrats captured both chambers.

There is another, more crucial difference: South Korean leaders know that democracy is a fragile thing. It is certainly no coincidence that leaders in South Korea and Brazil, both of which have experienced military dictatorships within living memory, have firmly rejected attacks on their democratic systems. (Less than six months after an attempted coup in January 2023, Brazilian officials have banned former President Jair Bolsonaro from running for office until 2030.)

But for most Americans, especially those in power, the United States is unthinkable without democracy. (The Jim Crow regime and other undemocratic systems in U.S. history are not taken into account in such rosy assessments.) This false confidence undermines a much-needed sense of urgency. Trump’s anti-democratic actions are not a fever that will eventually subside; They are a disease that needs to be addressed quickly.

Democrats actually carried out the fastest impeachment and trial in American history. But it wasn’t fast enough. The lesson is: The next time Trump oversteps the bounds of the democratic system and Democrats have a chance to hold him accountable, they must move as quickly as possible. Keeping Congress open, demanding votes, keeping lawmakers in town – whatever is necessary must be done quickly so that Republicans do not lose their briefly regained sense. There was once a time when the spell of partisanship was broken for a week or even two. Now these chances are measured in hours. Even the Senate can act quickly if it wants: After delaying the trial for three weeks in 2021, Democrats abandoned the proceedings because, as one senator told the House impeachment managers, “people want to go home for Valentine’s Day.” .”

The time will come when Trump and his henchmen attack democracy again. You can’t help yourself. And on this day, Democrats must be prepared to act quickly to defend democracy and enforce the accountability Americans demand.