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.

This is a heck of a collateral that is being offered by the Lotte Group:

Lotte Group said Thursday that it provided Seoul’s landmark Lotte World Tower as collateral to strengthen the creditworthiness of corporate bonds issued by its struggling chemical unit, Lotte Chemical. The move is part of the group’s efforts to reassure investors about its financial prudence.

Lotte Group said in a statement that it will offer Lotte World Tower to banks as collateral to enhance the creditworthiness of its corporate bonds through bank guarantees related to the bond agreements.

The 123-story, 555-meter Lotte World Tower is the world’s sixth-tallest building and the highest in Korea. Owned by Lotte Property & Development, its current value exceeds 6 trillion won ($4.3 billion).

The statement came after Lotte Chemical revealed last week that it was in a position where creditors could declare an event of default and demand early repayment of its corporate bonds, valued at 2.05 trillion won. This development arose from the company’s inability to comply with the predetermined terms of the bonds.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see if China tries to conduct any provocations against Taiwan while its President is visiting Hawaii and Guam:

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te will stop over in Hawaii and Guam during his trip to the South Pacific, drawing criticism from China. Lai is to leave Taiwan on Saturday on a weeklong trip to visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau — three diplomatic allies of the self-governed island. Asked by the AP, Lai’s office on Friday confirmed reports that he would make stopovers in the U.S. state of Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam. Under pressure from China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, the island has just 12 formal diplomatic allies.

However, it retains strong contacts with dozens of other nations, including the U.S., its main source of diplomatic and military support. Lai’s planned stopovers drew criticism from Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said if the U.S. wants to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, it is important for it to handle the Taiwan issue “with utmost caution, clearly opposing Taiwan independence and supporting China’s peaceful reunification.” Mao said China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan, and visits by Taiwan’s leaders to the U.S. for any reason.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if Seoul will ever see this money paid back to them:

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed Friday that Ukraine has received a US$100 million loan from South Korea aimed at supporting the social sector.

In a post on social media X, Shmyhal said the loan is “the first budget assistance” from South Korea to support the social sector.

He said Ukraine also signed an agreement with South Korea granting access to up to $2.1 billion in funding earlier this year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It appears the authoritarian block is sending a message to South Korea about supporting Ukraine:

South Korea scrambled fighter jets Friday after six Russian and five Chinese military aircraft entered the country’s air defense identification zone. The foreign aircraft approached the zone between 9:35 a.m. and 1:53 p.m., crossing into the buffer near the southern and eastern coasts, according to a statement from the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air defense identification zones are buffers designed by some nations to monitor and identify approaching aircraft before they enter national airspace.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It is ironic that North Korea is claiming imperialists are threatening Russia’s territory when it is the imperialist Russians that have taken Ukrainian territory:

This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Nov. 30, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un (L) meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Pyongyang the previous day.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has met Russia’s visiting defense minister and expressed his support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, state media reported Saturday, amid deepening military cooperation between the two nations.

Kim had a “friendly and trustworthy” meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov in Pyongyang on Friday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Belousov arrived in North Korea the previous day for a visit that came as North Korea has sent thousands of its troops to Russia in support of Moscow’s war against Ukraine. (……..)

He affirmed that “the DPRK government, army and people will invariably support the policy of the Russian Federation to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity from the imperialists’ moves for hegemony,” the KCNA said, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.