Tag: South Korea

It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out because it has never happened before:

A Seoul court on Tuesday issued a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law imposition, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest. 

The Seoul Western District Court approved a request from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to issue the warrant against Yoon on charges of masterminding the botched Dec. 3 martial law declaration, orchestrating the insurrection and abusing power, according to the CIO. 

The court also approved a warrant to search Yoon’s presidential residence in Seoul’s Yongsan in connection with the investigation.

Yonhap

Here is how Yoon’s legal team is responding:

Although Yoon has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, by law, the privilege does not extend to insurrection or treason charges.

Yoon’s defense team has argued the CIO lacks legal authority to investigate insurrection, a charge for which, in principle, police have investigative jurisdiction under the current system, amended during the previous government. 

Oh Dong-woon, the CIO chief, has said that, unlike search warrants, a court-issued detention or arrest warrant cannot legally be obstructed, even by the president.

You can read more at the link.

It looks like acting President Choi is trying to push a compromise between the KDP and the PPP which I doubt he is going to have much success with:

Acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two out of three Constitutional Court justice nominees, Tuesday, as he presided over his first regular Cabinet meeting after assuming the role.

Choi took on the position following former acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Friday. Han was ousted for delaying the appointment of three Constitutional Court justice nominees who had won parliamentary approval on Thursday.

Choi appointed Jeong Gye-seon, nominated by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and Cho Han-chang, recommended by the ruling People Power Party (PPP), but said he would hold off the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, nominated by the DPK, until rival parties reach a compromise.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Now that the initial shock of the Jeju Air plane crash has passed, the Korean media is starting to ask the tough questions on why this crashed happened:

The right engine (in red circle) of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 (Boeing 737-800) appears to be open for reverse thrust during an attempted belly landing at Muan International Airport, Sunday. Captured from video provided by a reader

A range of questions has emerged regarding the Jeju Air passenger plane crash that occurred on the morning of Dec. 29 at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province. Key issues include whether the engine’s reverse thrust was engaged during the emergency landing and why the plane did not jettison fuel before the accident.

A former commercial pilot and aviation experts analyzing video footage from the crash said it is likely the engine reverse thrust was activated. However, they noted a weak correlation between the absence of fuel jettisoning and the scale of the crash’s impact.

Was reverse thrust activated?

Of the 181 passengers and crew aboard, 179 lost their lives when the plane slid off the runway during an emergency belly landing, eventually colliding with a concrete structure holding the localizer antenna. The absence of landing gear, which plays a critical braking role, was cited as the primary cause. 

However, questions remain about whether auxiliary speed-reduction mechanisms, such as flaps, spoilers, or reverse thrust, were properly deployed.

A former commercial pilot said, “Crash footage and photos show the engine covers were open, indicating that reverse thrust was engaged. While it cannot be ruled out that the covers opened due to the impact, it seems more plausible that the captain activated reverse thrust during the emergency.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the author also asks why the landing gear was not manually deployed and why the pilot landed in the middle of the runway among other strange circumstances from this crash. With the evidence available now it is looking like a bird strike that led to pilot error may be the cause of this crash. The crash was then made worse by the dirt and concrete antenna structure at the end of the runway:

The remnants and debris of the Jeju Air passenger plane, which exploded after attempting a belly landing and colliding the previous day, remain on the runway at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, Monday. Yonhap

Debate is intensifying over whether the design of a structure at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province exacerbated the impact of the recent Jeju Air passenger plane crash.

Experts argue that the structure, constructed with soil and concrete in a tall and rigid design, amplified the impact and worsened the resulting damage.

The government maintains that the facility complies with both domestic and international regulations. However, revelations that design guidelines from four years ago recommended breakable materials to minimize damage have further fueled the controversy.

The localizer, a safety facility guiding aircraft during landing, has been criticized for being constructed with rigid materials, contrary to international standards.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Korea Times is also reporting that Muan International Airport also lacked the proper amount of personnel to ward off birds to prevent bird strikes:

A suspected bird strike, identified as one of the causes of the Jeju Air crash last Sunday, has raised concerns about the adequacy of bird control operations at Muan International Airport. At the time of the incident, only one Bird Alert Team (BAT), commonly referred to as “Batman,” was on duty, prompting questions about whether staffing levels and operational protocols were sufficient.

BAT units typically use firearms and other deterrents to drive birds away from airport grounds and communicate directly with the control tower when bird flocks are spotted.

According to sources compiled by the Hankook Ilbo, only one BAT member was working during the suspected bird strike, which likely occurred between 8:57 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. This contradicts earlier statements by the government’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, which said two members were present that day.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the article says that Muan has the highest per capita number of bird strikes of any airport in South Korea. Despite this fact nothing was done to increase the number of personnel needed to prevent bird strikes. So now you add in lax government airfield safety regulations on top of possible pilot error and this Jeju Air crash could end up being a major black eye for the Korean aviation industry.

If the Democratic Party does yet another impeachment this would actually support Yoon’s rationale of why he tried to declare martial law. The Democratic Party is dangerously paralyzing the government for partisan political reasons:

Despite the growing risk that the country could be left without a government to mount effective responses to serious crises, hard-liners in the liberal Democratic Party (DP) have suggested impeaching more ministers to neutralize the Cabinet’s ability to stonewall legislation should Choi not cooperate with the DP-controlled National Assembly. 

At least 11 members of the 21-member Cabinet must be present for the council to hold meetings, where it considers bills and issues directives. Six Cabinet-level positions are currently empty due to impeachments or resignations. 

One of the DP’s reasons for impeaching Han was his refusal to immediately appoint the legislature’s three nominees for the Constitutional Court, which will decide the outcome of Yoon’s impeachment trial. 

For Yoon’s impeachment to be upheld, at least six justices must agree on his removal from office. 

The court must therefore be unanimous with its current six-member composition to finalize his dismissal. 

In recent comments, DP Rep. Jang Kyung-tae said his party “should impeach several Cabinet members,” including Choi, if he also delays appointing more justices to the court. 

(Joong Ang Ilbo)

You can read more at the link.

That is what the Joong Ang Ilbo is speculating on:

One month ago, far-right political YouTuber and popular pundit Ko Sung-kook uploaded  videos that mirrored the president’s televised public address, including the tone and rhetoric.   

“No one trusts the polls and the NEC [National Election Commission] anymore. They carry the votes around in a basket and are a severe threat to democracy. They should not be trusted,” Ko is filmed telling his 1.1 million subscribers.  

Ko is just one in an ecosystem of far-right political YouTubers who support their beliefs by stretching the truth and spreading unfounded ideas that extend to conspiracy theories.  (Joong Ang Ilbo)

You can read more at the link, but basically the Korean public has lost faith in legacy media and has turned to YouTube personalities for what they believe is less bias news. Yoon is supposedly a big consumer of these conservative YouTube personalities and was sold on election fraud by listening to them.

This is unbelievably tragic. Condolences to all the families impacted by this awful plane crash:

At least 122 people have died and two were rescued after a Jeju Air passenger jet carrying 181 people erupted in flames as it went off the runway and hit a wall at an airport in South Korea’s southwestern county of Muan on Sunday, authorities said. All but the two are presumed to have been killed.

The accident happened at 9:07 a.m., when the Jeju Air flight veered off the runway while landing and collided with a fence wall at Muan International Airport in the Muan county, South Jeolla Province, about 288 kilometers southwest of Seoul. (Yonhap)

You can read more at the link, but acting President Choi Sang-mok was pretty impressive getting himself quickly to the crash site on a Sunday and showing despite the current political uncertainty he is in charge.

Additionally from what I am seeing on social media it is believed a bird strike may have damaged an engine and impacted the landing gear prior to touching down in Muan. Whoever the two survivors were they were extremely lucky to survive this horrible crash.

More and more people are immigrating to South Korea:

The number of immigrants in South Korea, which includes foreign nationals residing here as well as naturalized citizens, reached a record high of over 1.56 million in 2024, according to government data released Tuesday. Similarly, the number of employed foreign nationals also hit an all-time high at 1.01 million.

The number of those having resided in South Korea for at least 91 days, aged 15 and above, reached about 1,561,000 as of May, compared to 1.48 million tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.

Specifically, foreign nationals accounted for 1.51 million, with naturalized citizens being 51,000.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

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.