South Korean President declares martial law, accuses opposition | Martial law lifted
- Thread starter VorZakone
- Start date
Succulent Korean order?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gp8p875g8o
Sounds like the next impeachment will be successful from the parliament's side. Then the question is if they'll get a six-judge majority to confirm his removal.
The following clause in the original impeachment motion explains in part why the ruling party failed to support it:
"Under the guise of so-called 'value diplomacy,' the (Yoon Suk Yeol) administration ignored geopolitical balance, provoked North Korea, China, and Russia, and pursued an unusual pro-Japan stance by appointing Japan-aligned figures to key government positions. This approach resulted in Northeast Asian isolation, heightened risks of war, and a failure to uphold the responsibilities of national security and public
In other words, the opposition used the motion as an opportunity to acquire tacit official recognition of its view on the last few years of ruling party foreign policy, which were basically an essential correction to the previous administration's pro-North policy. Thus it was an impeachment they obviously could not support. Hence:
In response, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and other opposition groups revised the second impeachment motion, set for a Dec. 14 vote, removing contentious language and scrambling to issue explanations through diplomatic channels.
https://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=388418
The martial law move was incontestably daft and with as yet unknown potentially dangerous repercussions. But if you want to know a little more about the background to domestic politics in SK, take a look at this guy's stuff. He's the most acute foreign resident observer of its goings on.
https://sthelepress.com/
Look at his back catalogue if you want to learn about the sympathies and ideological underpinnings of the Minjoo-dang (Korean Democratic Party).
S Korean president accused of ordering use of guns to stop martial law vote
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xj7kpe7kjo
every update gets worse and the system seems paralysed/unable to treat this with the gravity it deserves.
The guy's been suspended.
The other guy who tried to launch a coup in the US is about to be President again.
I'd say that South Korea is doing fairly well do far at dealing with this.
Yes, the US is a basket case. South Korea is still not dealing with this seriously enough.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/han-duck-soo-impeached-republic-korea-explainer/104767790
Sadly I think we are seeing the erosion of democratic checks and balances in many countries. I agree more should be done. But consider the UK where Johnson reduced the power of the electoral commission and introduced photo ID for elections, disenfranchising a huge number.
We need to strengthen these institutions. Populist politicians enfeeble them.
I would add that at least South Korea has a functioning impeachment process, which is something.
Their political landscape seems to be extremely partisan, the parties more interested in impeding and hampering each other whereever they can rather than actually doing what's good for the country. And the amount of constant corruption up into the highest echelons is certainly not helping things.
It feels hard to see where the crap they fling at each other is a genuine issue that warrants the reaction, and where they're just trying to trip each other up again. Impeaching the stand-in seems to be sort of reasonable to me - it appears to be a play to get Yoon back in power by refusing to sign off on the new judges until the parliament agrees on the candidates. A parliament that would probably have trouble agreeing on what the weather outside is while looking out the window. Fat chance.
It feels hard to see where the crap they fling at each other is a genuine issue that warrants the reaction, and where they're just trying to trip each other up again. Impeaching the stand-in seems to be sort of reasonable to me - it appears to be a play to get Yoon back in power by refusing to sign off on the new judges until the parliament agrees on the candidates. A parliament that would probably have trouble agreeing on what the weather outside is while looking out the window. Fat chance.
A court has now ordered the arrest of the impeached president Yoon after he ignored three summons by the investigators of his shortlived invocation of martial law. He can now be lawfully arrested and interrogated for up to 48 hours, after which they'll have to decide whether to release him or petition for a longer-term arrest while the investigations are ongoing.
The court's order also contains a permission to search his property for potential evidence.
The court's order also contains a permission to search his property for potential evidence.
Kind of insane that this hasn't happened already. Any evidence could be long gone.
Trying to arrest him now.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/02/...dent-arrest-warrant-hnk-latam-intl/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/02/...dent-arrest-warrant-hnk-latam-intl/index.html
I can't believe he has supporters trying to halt the arrest. Absolute disgrace.
They actually retreated rather than arrest the people who are preventing the arrest and search... the execution of a lawful court order is suspended because a military unit and the president's security detail can just decide they don't care.
The country is fecked, isn't it? When its organs decide that the rule of law doesn't matter, partisanship to whichever side they're on does, then that's about as fecked as it can go before open civil war, no?
A second attempt to arrest him as we speak.
Surely they won't be foiled by 20 lads in a human chain for a second time?
They're getting blocked by a combination of parked cars, the presidential guard, politicians from his party and his lawyers. This is ridiculous. There's 3000 policemen there trying to arrest the wanker. Pepperspray and arrest everyone interfering and bloody get it done.
Edit: They've now made it past the guys blocking the entrance - by using ladders and entering the windows.
Edit: They've now made it past the guys blocking the entrance - by using ladders and entering the windows.
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They're getting blocked by a combination of parked cars, the presidential guard, politicians from his party and his lawyers. This is ridiculous. There's 3000 policemen there trying to arrest the wanker. Pepperspray and arrest everyone interfering and bloody get it done.
Edit: They've now made it past the guys blocking the entrance - by using ladders and entering the windows.
Just send a few spanish policemen assholes and they kick him in 2 minutes
I say roll out the trebuchets.
They've now arrested the acting chief of the presidential security forces.
Meanwhile the lawyers of Yoon now want to negotiate him voluntarily appearing before the investigators... could have gotten that idea before ignoring three summonses, the issued arrest orders, one failed arrest attempt and now this second one looking like it might succeed, eh? Yoon is cleary uncooperative and taking the piss out of the legal system, why should they believe him that this time he'll appear voluntarily?
Edit: The CIO just stated that they will stick to the arrest order, and not consider negotiations about Yoon's voluntary appearance. Good on them.
Meanwhile the lawyers of Yoon now want to negotiate him voluntarily appearing before the investigators... could have gotten that idea before ignoring three summonses, the issued arrest orders, one failed arrest attempt and now this second one looking like it might succeed, eh? Yoon is cleary uncooperative and taking the piss out of the legal system, why should they believe him that this time he'll appear voluntarily?
Edit: The CIO just stated that they will stick to the arrest order, and not consider negotiations about Yoon's voluntary appearance. Good on them.
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I have to admit that I stopped following this after the first failed attempt. Has there been any reason given why there's so much protection for him? I get the odd random group of bootlickers that probably wanted a coup. But why are the security forces protecting him? Why does an impeached president have a "security force"?
To start with, the impeachment is not final yet, so he is not removed from his post entirely yet. The supreme court still has to confirm his removal, and part of that process was him having to appear to hearings, which he refused to do. Which is why a court then ordered his arrest.
Many countries provide a standing security detachment for their former presidents, prime ministers, chancellors or what have you, South Korea among them.
Thanks for the explanation. I get there is some formality to the impeachment and hence he'd still have the protections of a president, but why is that extending to blocking the government officials for arresting? I can see a president requiring protection from the general public, but that's a far cry from stopping the state carrying out their functions of arrest. If anything, the security forces should be at the control of the government not him personally, so I assume they are also "on his side"?
Oh no, I'm absolutely with you there. Those security forces should never interfere with perfectly legal proceedings, and Yoon's arrest warrant definitely is one of those no matter how much his lawyers screech the opposite. Which is why I personally would have taken off the gloves halfway through the first failed attempt, rolled out the teargas and if necessary the water cannons, and arrested all of them. They've been playing nice for way too long, any normal citizen would have not gotten the kiddie gloves treatment.
Impeached president or not, he does not just get to defy lawful orders and do whatever he wants. And if his PSS impede the execution of those lawful orders, then they can take up residence in the cells next to his.
Did not answer any questions during his first day of questioning, refused to show up for the second day's questioning with the reason that he wasn't feeling well and he has said all there is to say on day one.
Meanwhile his lawyer's petition at the central district court to declare his detention unlawful has been rejected. They have also filed insurrection claims against the chief of the CIO and others.
Meanwhile his lawyer's petition at the central district court to declare his detention unlawful has been rejected. They have also filed insurrection claims against the chief of the CIO and others.