Assembly to vote Tuesday on Yoon insurrection probe

A National Assembly committee approved a motion that would mandate the appointment of a permanent special counsel to investigate whether President Yoon Suk Yeol committed insurrection by issuing his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3. The approval allows the proposal to be put to a parliamentary vote scheduled Tuesday. The motion was introduced Friday by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. All eleven opposition lawmakers on the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee v

Dec. 9, 2024

[Exclusive] ‘Troops paused on way to Election Commission, felt something was up’

Troops dispatched from the Defense Counterintelligence Command to take control of the National Election Commission of Korea office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, paused on the way because they felt something was amiss, military sources told The Korea Herald. This is the first time it has been revealed why and how troops slowed down on the way to their targets, and suggests troops may have acted in defiance of the martial law decree that was in effect from 11 p.m. Tuesday until the early hours of W

Dec. 9, 2024

Military authority remains with President Yoon Suk Yeol: Defense Ministry

President Yoon Suk Yeol retains authority over the military, the Ministry of Defense confirmed Monday amid controversy over calls to exclude him from state affairs in the wake of his short-lived martial law declaration last week. During a regular briefing, Defense Ministry Spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said, “The authority over the military belongs to the president,” when asked about who currently holds military control. When asked whether someone under criminal investigation for insurrec

Dec. 9, 2024

[News Analysis] Why Yoon escaped Park’s fate even with smaller ruling party

The failed impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk Yeol, derailed by a lack of quorum on Saturday, has prompted sharp comparisons to the single vote that ousted President Park Geun-hye. The focus now shifts to why only three members of the ruling People Power Party defied the party’s boycott, particularly when just eight defections would have been enough to push Yoon’s impeachment forward with 200 votes out of the 300-member Assembly. The outcome is particularly notable given the

Dec. 9, 2024

'Orderly retreat' struggles to win support

The ruling People Power Party is struggling to justify the legitimacy of transferring President Yoon Suk Yeol's role to the party and government, as calls for impeachment escalate. Amid this struggle a leadership vacuum is opening up in the ruling party. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea announced Monday it was seeking to expel the party's Floor Leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho -- who offered to resign following Saturday's impeachment vote -- from the National Assembly, accus

Dec. 9, 2024

Power struggle intensifies among investigative bodies over Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law case

  The investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s controversial December 3 martial law declaration has descended into a jurisdictional tug-of-war among South Korea’s prosecutorial, police and anti-corruption agencies, raising concerns about the investigation's clarity and efficiency. At the heart of the dispute is the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which rejected a request from the prosecutor’s office to hand over all cases related to the mart

Dec. 9, 2024

How Yoon allies ate their own words concerning martial law

President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided impeachment Saturday, as his conservative ruling party staged a united boycott against the opposition-led parliamentary vote, defying public demands to hold him responsible for last week’s surprise declaration of martial law. Records show that Yoon, his Cabinet, and several members of his party have apparently flip-flopped their positions on martial law -- at least in the public address -- from before the fateful night of Dec. 3. Accusations of the preside

Dec. 9, 2024

Drone deployment to Pyongyang orchestrated by ex-defense minister: DP lawmaker

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun ordered the South Korean military to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles to Pyongyang in October, seemingly to manufacture a justification for President Yoon Suk Yeol to declare martial law, a lawmaker claimed. “I received a tip-off from the military and deemed it credible,” said Rep. Park Beom-kye of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Monday. Park added that specific details of the operation appe

Dec. 9, 2024

Impeachment is only solution, political scholars say

A coalition of 573 political scientists called for the immediate reintroduction of an impeachment bill against President Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of violating constitutional order and threatening democratic principles. The demand follows a failed vote Saturday stemming from a boycott from Yoon’s ruling party lawmakers. In a public declaration issued on Sunday evening, the scholars condemned Yoon’s declaration of emergency martial law on Dec. 3, labeling it as an insurrection. They

Dec. 9, 2024

Next impeachment vote against Yoon to take place Saturday

The next impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk Yeol will take place on Saturday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung said Sunday. The main opposition has accused Yoon of insurrection for his surprise martial law decree late Tuesday. They called the decree "an attempt to paralyze the functions of the Assembly." The Democratic Party has previously said they plan to float the impeachment motion and hold the vote every Saturday, until it passes thr

Dec. 9, 2024

Defense ministry says control of military currently lies with Yoon

The control of South Korea's military forces currently lies with President Yoon Suk Yeol as the commander in chief, the defense ministry said Monday, as he faces investigation as a suspect on treason charges over last week's martial law declaration. On Sunday, prosecutors said they booked Yoon as a suspect on insurrection charges after his surprise declaration of martial law Tuesday night that was unanimously rejected by the National Assembly hours later. "Legally, (the control of

Dec. 9, 2024

DP proposes bills to investigate Yoon's martial law declaration, first lady allegations

The main opposition Democratic Party proposed a special counsel bill on Monday to investigate whether President Yoon Suk Yeol committed treason and other violations during his short-lived declaration of martial law last week. Rep. Kim Yong-min, the DP's deputy floor leader for policy, and Rep. Kim Seung-won submitted the bill, calling on the special counsel to investigate Yoon's alleged "insurrection." The DP also proposed a bill mandating a special counsel probe into allegat

Dec. 9, 2024

Ex-interior minister placed under travel ban in connection with martial law probe

Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min has been placed under an overseas travel ban pending an investigation into his role in last week's botched martial law declaration, officials said Monday. The travel ban was imposed by the justice ministry following requests from both the police and the prosecution, they said. (Yonhap)

Dec. 9, 2024

Yoon ducking public eye since botched impeachment vote

President Yoon Suk Yeol remained out of the public eye Monday with no planned schedules or releases of official statements after the National Assembly's failed attempt to impeach him over the weekend. Yoon has not appeared in public since his two-minute public apology aired live Saturday, hours before parliament was set to vote on the impeachment motion over his abrupt martial law declaration earlier last week. The motion was scrapped due to a lack of quorum required to pass it, as all but

Dec. 9, 2024

Police say will consider imposing travel ban on Yoon

Police said Monday they will consider imposing a travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol to investigate him over charges related to his short-lived declaration of martial law last week. Police also did not rule out questioning Yoon in person. "There are no human or physical restrictions to the subject of an investigation," Woo Jong-soo, a senior police official, told reporters during a briefing. (Yonhap)

Dec. 9, 2024

Prosecutors grill Army chief over martial law declaration

Prosecutors investigating alleged treason following President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law imposition last week have questioned Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who had been named to lead the martial law command, informed officials said Monday. Park was grilled by prosecutors as a witness at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office for about eight hours from 6 p.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday, the officials said. Prosecutors have called in Park and other military leaders who

Dec. 9, 2024

Parliamentary committee to review special counsel probe bill into Yoon's treason charges

A parliamentary committee is set to review Monday whether to appoint a permanent special counsel to investigate treason charges against President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law declaration. The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority at the National Assembly, seeks to put the bill up for a vote during a plenary session Tuesday after it passes the legislation and judiciary committee. Since last week's abrupt and brief martial law imposition by Yoon, the Corruptio

Dec. 9, 2024

Commandos ‘victims in ex-defense chief’s plan for Assembly break-in’: group leader

The leader of the 707th special mission group said his commandos are victims of Kim Yong-hyun, the ex-minister who was arrested Sunday. The group’s commandos were tasked with entering the National Assembly after martial law was declared. Col. Kim Hyun-tae, who leads the Special Warfare Command’s elite 707th special mission group, told reporters Monday that he was responsible for making the commandos follow the ex-minister’s orders to break into the parliament’s main build

Dec. 9, 2024

Yoon's approval rating hits new low

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating fell by 7.7 percentage points to 17.3 percent in the first week of December due to his abrupt imposition of martial law, the biggest threat to South Korea's democracy in the 21st century, a poll showed Monday. In the meantime, Yoon has not appeared in public for three days since he delivered a televised address on Saturday promising that he would entrust his executive powers to his People Power Party. The presidential office has been almost non

Dec. 9, 2024

Member of Yoon Suk Yeol's party pledges to vote to impeach unless removal plan presented

Rep. Kim Sang-wook of the ruling People Power Party said on Sunday that he will vote in favor of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment unless a clear roadmap for his removal from office is presented. He was one of three PPP lawmakers who cast a ballot during Saturday’s botched vote on the opposition-led motion to initiate Yoon’s impeachment over his imposition of martial law on Tuesday. After the vote, which put him in the media spotlight, Rep. Kim revealed that he voted agains

Dec. 8, 2024