Tag: South Korea

It looks like most of President Yoon’s cabinet had no idea about the martial law decree and he called them into a meeting that night just to consolidate them before declaring it:

A brief, five-minute Cabinet meeting took place between 10:17 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. in the presidential reception room, apparently without due process or any official record, according to data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety submitted by the presidential office.

Yoon, who came into the meeting but did not even sit down, abruptly left the meeting. At 10:23 p.m., he began reading his statement — without the presence of Cabinet members or reporters. The live televised address culminated in the declaration of martial law at around 10:28 p.m.

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-Kyung vividly recounted that some of those present at the five-minute Cabinet meeting on Dec. 3 were completely blindsided, leaving them powerless to intervene or stop him from making it public.

“(The president) briefly entered the room and then left. After he left, those who were seated were taken aback and asked, ‘Where did he go?’ At that moment, someone played a broadcast on their phone, and his voice came through. That’s what happened,” Song said during the Dec. 11 plenary session of the Assembly, recalling that the Cabinet meeting never formally concluded — there was no declaration signaling its end.

“It wasn’t even possible to grab hold of him or physically intervene in any way. I am truly sorry for this.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Another ROK Army senior leader has now been arrested:

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as the chief commander during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial law, was arrested Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Park was arrested with a court-issued warrant on charges of playing a key role in an insurrection and abuse of power.

Park became the fifth key figure who was arrested over Yoon’s Dec. 3 failed bid to impose martial law. 

So far, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, head of the Army Special Warfare Command, and Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, head of the Capital Defense Command, have been arrested.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is not too surprising of news:

The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Monday he is stepping down amid growing internal strife following the National Assembly’s vote to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.

PPP leader Han Dong-hoon made the announcement during a press conference after an impeachment motion against Yoon was passed 204-85 on Saturday over his botched imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.

The results showed 12 PPP lawmakers likely broke from their party line to vote in favor of impeachment. Han expressed support for Yoon’s impeachment Thursday despite his earlier calls for the president’s “orderly” exit.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The process to complete the impeachment of President Yoon by the Constitutional Court will begin on December 27th:

This composite image features the justices of the Constitutional Court who will deliberate on a parliamentary motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. The justices are seen arriving for work at the court in Seoul on Monday. Clockwise from top left: Cheong Hyung-sik, Moon Hyung-bae, Kim Bok-hyeong, Chung Jung-mi, Lee Mi-sun and Kim Hyung-du. (Yonhap)

The Constitutional Court of Korea announced Monday that it would prioritize President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial, setting the first preparatory hearing for Dec. 27 at 2 p.m.

Lee Jin, director general for the Constitutional Court’s Public Information Office, said in a press briefing Monday that justices Lee Mi-sun and Jeong Hyung-sik have been chosen as the two lead justices to oversee the evidence examination and arguments.

The chief justice, who leads the ruling by drafting the resolution and preparing arguments, has not been disclosed by the court. The chief justice is selected through a random draw.

But according to news reports, Jeong, who was appointed as justice by Yoon in 2023, has been designated as chief justice.

It is not mandatory for the court to reveal the chief justice, but they did in 2017 with ex-President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment case, citing the “severity of the issue.”

The court has also formed a task force comprising 10 constitutional researchers, led by a senior researcher. It added that it would also secure investigation records from the prosecutors and police in advance.

Preparations are underway to deliver a copy of an impeachment trial bill to Yoon and request his reply, the court added, though it is not compulsory for Yoon to do so.

It is highly likely that Yoon does not show up at the Dec. 27 hearing since it is a preparatory procedure. But he must attend the public hearing of his trial and participate in the oral pleading. If he fails to appear, the date needs to be reset.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

If Trump wants to increase tariffs on South Korea I don’t think it really matters who the leader is:

Korea’s ongoing leadership crisis, triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law, is feared to leave the country vulnerable to potential new tariffs from the incoming Donald Trump administration during upcoming trade and economic negotiations, industry officials said Sunday.

Yoon is suspended from his duties following the National Assembly’s vote on Saturday to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has stepped in as acting president.

Officials from the nation’s business community expressed concerns that Korea may have weaker negotiating power under the presidency of the interim head of state.

“Every nation engages in a tight tug-of-war with the United States to minimize any damages from the ultra-protectionist stance of Trump,” an official from a major manufacturing firm here said.

“But it becomes harder for Korea to do so on an equal footing due to the absence of the state leader.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

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.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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.

Korea Times

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.

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.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It seems like the major objective of the martial law decree was to prove election fraud. If fraud was going on it would seem any evidence would have been disposed of long ago. Additionally why wasn’t legal means taken against the National Election Commission instead of attempting a military raid?:

President Yoon Suk Yeol had conducted a legal review of last week’s martial law decree in person while rewriting it, the ex-defense minister, one of the key suspects in the alleged insurrection, said Wednesday.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was questioned by prosecutors at a detention facility for the first time since his arrest earlier in the day.

During the five-hour questioning, he reportedly testified that President Yoon conducted a legal review of the martial law declaration by himself, and that he and the president co-wrote the final draft, with Yoon editing part of the content.

Additionally, Kim is said to have assigned duties related to martial law to top military officials on Dec. 1 and attempted to access facilities connected to the National Election Commission to secure evidence concerning allegations of election fraud.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.