Category: Politics-Korea

I would think what President Yoon is likely trying to negotiate is an exit where he is arrested by whatever future administration takes power. Over the coming days we should learn more on how this is all going to play out, but for now it looks like Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon are calling the shots for South Korea:

Ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon vowed Sunday to minimize the fallout from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law declaration with the president’s “early” and “orderly” departure.

The move came a day after a motion to impeach Yoon fell through due to a lack of quorum, with all but three PPP lawmakers boycotting the vote.

“Through an orderly early departure of the president, we will minimize the chaos for the Republic of Korea and its people, stabilize the political situation and restore liberal democracy,” Han said at the PPP headquarters in western Seoul. 

The party leader stressed that the majority of the public believes that Yoon should step down, as he is unable to govern normally for the remainder of his term.

In what appeared to be an attempt to ease concern among the public and the international community, he said the president will not take part in state affairs, including diplomacy, even before his departure.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t see how President Yoon stays in power because this is clearly a hint from the PPP leader that they will join the opposition in impeachment if he doesn’t suspend his Presidential powers:

The leader of the ruling party said Friday that President Yoon Suk Yeol needs to be swiftly suspended from exercising power, revealing that Yoon ordered the arrests of prominent politicians during his aborted martial law declaration.

Han Dong-hoon of the People Power Party (PPP) said there is a possibility that the president may again take a “radical” action like the botched declaration of martial law if Yoon clings to the presidential power. 

“Given the newly revealed facts, I believe it is necessary to promptly suspend President Yoon Suk Yeol from his duties to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han told an emergency meeting of the party’s leadership at the National Assembly, referring to South Korea by its official name. 

Han pointed out it was confirmed Thursday that Yoon had instructed Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung to detain key political figures, accusing them of being “anti-state” forces, and had even mobilized intelligence to detain them. (Yonhap)

You can read more at the link.

The Democratic Party would need to get 8 votes from President Yoon’s People Power Party to impeach him. It will be interesting to see what the PPP does because its leadership has clashed with Yoon as well. If the PPP decides to support impeachment they are essentially handing the Presidency to Lee Jae-myung and the Korean left. However if the PPP does decide to support impeachment I can’t really blame them because the martial law attempt was preposterous:

 President Yoon Suk Yeol has come under growing attacks from the main opposition party to face impeachment or charges of treason, in the wake of his short-lived attempt to impose martial law that was blocked by the National Assembly. (Yonhap)

You can read more at the link, but any treason charges is going to depend on if the Constitutional Court finds that what Yoon did was Constitutional or not.

I don’t get what Yoon was thinking declaring martial law knowing full well the Democratic Party who holds a majority in the National Assembly can just vote to end it. We all know the DP is conducting the impeachments in effort to protect their leader Lee Jae-myung from prosecution, but their had to be better response options than martial law:

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, accusing the nation’s opposition of paralyzing the government with “anti-state activities,” but the National Assembly voted to lift the decree hours later.

“Martial law is aimed at eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom,” Yoon said in an emergency national address televised live in late Tuesday.

It marks the first declaration of emergency martial law in South Korea since 1979.

The surprise announcement came after the opposition Democratic Party (DP) railroaded a downsized budget bill in the parliamentary budget committee, and submitted impeachment motions against a state auditor and the chief prosecutor.

Under the Constitution, the president can declare martial law in response to military needs during times of war, armed conflict, a national emergency, or when public safety and order require it. 

Following the address, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who was named as leader of martial law command, announced a decree banning all political activities, including protests and activities by political parties. 

At at around 1 a.m, Wednesday, the 300-member National Assembly convened a plenary session to demand that Yoon lift martial law, with the resolution approved with 190 members present and 190 votes in favor. 

With the motion’s passage, the martial law declaration is void, according to the parliamentary speaker’s office. (Yonhap)

You can read more the link, but Yoon was already very unpopular and this martial law decree will likely make him even more deeply disliked in Korea.

Lee Jae-myung may have lost one legal battle, but he won this one:

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung was cleared, Monday, of charges of suborning perjury or soliciting false testimony.

The verdict marks a dramatic turnaround in his political career, as he was sentenced to a suspended jail term for a separate case just 10 days ago.

This ruling will slightly ease the legal burden on Lee, who is currently facing a total of five trials, as he remains the strongest opposition contender for the 2027 presidential election. Lee and the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are expected to use the verdict as momentum to more actively assert that the charges against him are politically motivated and part of an effort to suppress the opposition, further solidifying the anti-government stance of the DPK’s campaigns.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Lee Jae-myung if he does become the Korean President in the futre he can exchange stories with Trump about he was also convicted of breaking election laws and had an assassination attempt against him:

A rift appears to be forming within the Democratic Party of Korea after a Seoul court sentenced party leader and previous presidential candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung to a suspended jail term Friday for election law violations.

The Democratic Party has officially denied that Lee’s conviction — which, if confirmed by higher courts, could cost him his legislative seat — would divide the party or necessitate a leadership shake-up.

The party’s secretary-general, Rep. Kim Yun-duck, told reporters Sunday that the party “stands united behind” Lee. “We are not at all considering instating a new party leader,” he said. “There is absolute consensus about that among our party.”

The Democratic Party leader, who was narrowly defeated by President Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 election, is still the widely favored pick for the next president, according to recent polls.

If Lee ends up being unseated and loses his shot at running for president, however, the Democratic Party will have no choice but to look for another candidate to run in the next presidential election, now less than three years away.

Beneath the surface, the non-Lee faction is slowly rallying around other liberal figures who served in the last Democratic Party administration under former President Moon Jae-in.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

As I have previously said, the Korean left is trying to make the pollster Myung Tae-kyun into Presidnet Yoon’s Choi Soon-sil:

Prosecutors on Monday requested an arrest warrant for Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, over allegations of interfering in candidate nominations in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections through his ties with then presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife. 

They also filed warrants for Kim Young-sun, a former lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), and two ex-candidates in the June 2022 local elections, citing risk of destruction of evidence, according to the Changwon District Court.

Myung, who runs a public polling agency, is suspected of receiving approximately 90 million won (US$65,200) from Kim on several occasions between August 2022 and December last year in exchange for his help in getting her nominated on the PPP ticket ahead of the 2022 by-elections.

He is also under suspicion of having secured Kim’s nomination in exchange for conducting customized polls in favor of then PPP presidential candidate Yoon for free. First lady Kim Keon Hee has also been suspected of involvement in the nomination process.

Myung has reportedly refuted the allegations, saying he never promised Kim he would help to get her nominated and that he was not in a position to do so.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this guy is basically a pollster who was paid to generate polls favorable to certain candidates. All the polls that were wrong about the U.S. Presidential election should be a reminder that polls are used to shape public opinion not reflect it.

The election of President Trump is what is likely pushing this arrest warrant now because the Korean left needs to get Yoon impeached so they can get a leftist in power to counter Trump. Remember that former President Park Geun-hye was impeached for abuse of power and that is what the Korean left will try and claim Yoon was doing to get him impeached.

Much of these controversies like handbag-gate were manufactured by his political opponents, but the fact his poll numbers have nosedived below 20% has pretty much forced President Yoon to make this public apology:

President Yoon Suk Yeol offered an apology Thursday for causing concerns to the people and vowed to revamp state affairs amid growing controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Yoon stood up and bowed his head in apology during a televised address and press conference marking the second half of his term and providing an outline of the future policy direction. (….)

Yoon addressed the concerns over the first lady, who has faced criticism over allegations involving her acceptance of a luxury handbag, stock manipulation and involvement in government affairs.

“She should have conducted herself with greater caution, and the fact that she has caused concern to the public is unquestionably wrong,” he said.

Yoon said Kim should have acted more cautiously and it was wrong for her actions to have caused public concern, noting he appointed a secretary earlier in the day to prepare for the establishment of an office dedicated to supporting the first lady’s work.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but some of these controversies could have been prevented if the First Lady had an office initially to filter some of the nonsense that got here in trouble.

The latest manufactured scandal the Korean left is coming up with is that President Yoon helped to select someone in his own party to run for office:

Opposition parties have been intensifying their protest against President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee amid a swirling election meddling scandal surrounding the presidential couple and a political broker.

Their upgraded offensive, which even includes calls for Yoon’s impeachment, came as the president’s job approval rating plummeted to the lowest level since his inauguration in May 2022, at 19 percent.

The ruling party, however, is struggling to counter the offensive as new allegations involving the first couple — particularly Kim — continue to surface. The presidential office is reiterating its position that the first couple does not bear any legal responsibility even if the allegations are proven true, which falls short of public expectations for higher moral standards.

On Saturday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) held a large rally in central Seoul, demanding a special counsel bill to investigate allegations against Kim, including stock manipulation, her receipt of a luxury bag and interference in the party’s candidate nominations for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections and the April 2024 general elections.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, this has always been the Korean left’s plan ever since Yoon was elected, make accusations real or imagined and then use the media to drive down his approval ratings to impeach him. It worked with former President Park Geun-hye and they are attempting the same playbook now. They are trying to turn this election operative Myung into Yoon’s Choi Soon-sil. Remember Park Geun-hye was impeached for abuse of power and that is the narrative the Korean left is once again attempting with Yoon.

It looks like the Korean left has found a new angle to go after President Yoon’s wife after all their previous efforts failed. This one seems pretty weak as well if the only evidence they have is a innocuous text message exchange with the First Lady and testimony from a disgraced pollster:

The presidential office flatly denied claims by an election broker Tuesday that he frequently communicated with President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee during Yoon’s campaign for the People Power Party (PPP) presidential nomination in 2021.

Myung tae-kyun, a shadowy figure who ran a public opinion polling agency, claimed in media reports that he met Yoon and his wife in June 2021 and advised them regularly for about six months until the end of the presidential primary in November of that year.

“It is an absurd claim that Myung spoke to the president and first lady on speakerphone every day for six months,” a senior presidential official said in a release.

The official also clarified that the text messages exchanged between Myung and Kim were part of a private conversation before Yoon joined the PPP in July 2021.

One message shows Kim saying, “Please forgive our brother (oppa in Korean) for speaking carelessly.” 

The official explained that the “brother” referred to in the message was Kim’s biological brother, not Yoon.

Myung has been implicated in a political scandal involving allegations of the first lady’s interference in PPP candidate nominations ahead of the April general elections.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if Myung was have speakerphone conversations every day for six months you would think he would have more evidence of such a close relationship.