Police chief under arrest review Cho Ji-ho (C), commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on Dec. 13, 2024, for a court review of his arrest in connection with the botched martial law. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo made sure to call President Biden over the weekend and assure him everything is fine in Korea:
Acting President Han Duck-soo held phone talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday and vowed to maintain and develop the two countries’ alliance, his office said.
Han held the 16-minute phone conversation with Biden after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly on Saturday over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.
“Our government will carry out our diplomatic and security policies without disruption and work to ensure that the South Korea-U.S. alliance continues to be maintained and developed without wavering,” he said, according to his office.
It looks like Han Dong-hoon’s days as the leader of the PPP are limited:
The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) plans to hold a press conference on Monday, officials said Sunday, amid growing calls for his resignation after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached.
Earlier in the day, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon abruptly cancelled a press conference where he had been expected to announce his resignation.
Han will instead hold the presser at 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to PPP officials.
Han had earlier vowed to continue his duties in response to calls for his resignation after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on Saturday.
He has since faced growing pressure to step down after all five elected members of the PPP’s Supreme Council expressed their intent to resign.
When Yoon would not voluntarily step down after the aborted martial law attempt, his impeachment was inevitable:
The National Assembly passed a motion, Saturday, to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law declaration, with some lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party joining in support of his removal from office.
The impeachment motion against Yoon was put to a vote, with a total of 300 ballots cast: 204 in favor, 85 opposed, 3 abstentions, and 8 invalid votes.
You can read more at the link, but next the Constitutional Court will hold a trial to validate the impeachment. I have been saying since shortly after Yoon was elected that the Korean left would look for any reason to impeach him and he gift wrapped them a reason.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik declares the passage of an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
South Korean protestors rip a flag with all the faces of lawmakers who did not vote for the impeachment motion, despite the president’s martial law decree, sending a strong message to the ruling party and Yoon Suk Yeol pic.twitter.com/H9xzgKlgNs
Top court upholds lower court’s 2-year prison sentence for Cho Kuk Members from conservative civic organizations react in front of the Supreme Court in Seoul on Dec. 12, 2024, as the top court finalized a two-year prison term for the conviction of Cho Kuk, head of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party, on charges of academic fraud involving his children and unlawful interference in a government inspection during his time as a presidential aide. (Yonhap)
It looks like President Yoon’s days in office are coming to an end very soon now since he is now losign support from within his political party:
The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday threw his support behind a parliamentary vote to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed bid to impose martial law, while calling for convening an ethics committee to discuss whether to demand Yoon leave the party.
PPP leader Han Dong-hoon made the call after Yoon defended the Dec. 3 martial law declaration as an act of governance and rejected insurrection charges against him in a public address.
“The president’s duties must be swiftly straightened out and suspended through the impeachment process,” Han told reporters at the National Assembly in western Seoul. “Our party must support impeachment as the party line.”
Han said it has become “more clear” that Yoon is unable to carry out his duties as president, adding that his address came as a surprise.
The main opposition Democratic Party is set to file a new motion to impeach Yoon later in the day, after a parliamentary impeachment vote failed Saturday as the majority of PPP lawmakers boycotted it.
Earlier in the day, Han voiced support for Yoon’s impeachment, calling on lawmakers to vote on the next impeachment motion based on their own “conviction.”
Whether the decree was legal or not, I believe declaring martial law sets a dangerous precedent that a future left wing President could use to get their way as well:
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday defended his botched martial law declaration as an act of governance and denied insurrection charges facing him, while vowing to fight until the last moment against whether it is impeachment or a martial law probe.
In a televised public address, Yoon said sending troops to the National Assembly during martial law can’t amount to insurrection, while defying calls to step down.
Yoon said he used his presidential power to declare martial law “to protect the nation and normalize state affairs” against the opposition that paralyzed the government, calling it a “highly calibrated political judgment.”
“Whether I am impeached or investigated, I will fairly confront it,” he said.
