Tag: south korea

South Korean Parliament Impeaches President Yoon Suk Yeol In Second Vote, After His Short-Lived Martial Law Decree – Constitutional Court to Decide His Fate

The year of 2024 continues to provide us with earth-shattering developments all over the world.

In South Korea, still reeling from the Martial law decree and the attempted – unsuccessful – closure of the Parliament, back in December, lawmakers voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Yoon vowed today to fight for his political future after he lost the second vote to impeach him.

Reuters reported:

“The Constitutional Court will decide whether to remove Yoon sometime in the next six months. If he is removed from office, a snap election will be called.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was appointed by Yoon, became acting president, while Yoon remains in office but with his presidential powers suspended halfway through his five-year term.”

Yoon is the second conservative president in a row to be impeached in South Korea, after Park Geun-hye in 2017.

Yoon even survived a first impeachment vote last Saturday, before some in his party turned on him.

“’Although I am stopping for now, the journey I have walked with the people over the past two and a half years toward the future must never come to a halt. I will never give up’, Yoon said.”

Keep reading

Kremlin Trolls South Korea & US: ‘Professed Democracy’ Can Morph Into ‘Absolute Chaos’ In Couple Of Hours

The Kremlin in a fresh Wednesday statement appeared to engage in a bit of trolling of South Korea and its Western backers like the US following the prior day’s wild and short-lived martial law events.

“North Korea’s concerns over its security are understandable given the political instability in the South,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, which is somewhat ironic given the West constantly stresses the real threat and source of regional instability is actually Pyongyang. 

Her comments sought to emphasize the unpredictability of democracies supported by Washington. “In my opinion, many have understood why the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)… is so concerned over its security,” she said.

“It’s because they see that in a couple of hours [South Korea] can morph from a professed democracy into absolute chaos, with tanks on the streets, a storming of parliament, popular confrontation and some brute-force tactics,” Zakharova continued. 

This means the north’s vigilance and constant state of war readiness – which has included increased weapons testing of late – is entirely justified, she suggested in her explanation, given the “unpredictable” neighbor to the south.

Just before 5am local time on Wednesday South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol lifted his martial-law declaration after parliament voted unanimously against the measure. Troops had at one point stormed the parliament building, and there were bizarre scenes of lawmakers scaling fences to get back in.

He had argued his drastic move was necessary as his political opponents made the nation vulnerable to North Korean “communist forces” as government couldn’t function. Parliament rejected the rationale.

Keep reading

South Korea’s 6-Hour Martial Law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law, suspended the South Korean legislature and banned elected representatives from accessing the National Assembly building using massive police presence.

And then six hours later he rescinded the order.

President Yoon had declared in a public address to the Korean people that the move was to protect a “liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements.”  He said:

“I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible.”

But all the members of South Korea’s Parliament voted to reverse Yoon’s edict Tuesday and he then heeded the call. 

The action and rhetoric had evoked the days of the country’s military dictatorships; the language and justification was exactly the same. 

There had been repeated signals that Yoon could declare martial law because the public momentum to impeach him in South Korea was gaining ground.

Yoon is despised by South Koreans for his abuse of power, his wife’s corruption and his vitiation of South Korea’s sovereignty and economic wellbeing to serve U.S. geopolitical interests.

Particularly triggering and enraging for South Koreans has been his enmeshing of South Korea’s military with that of its former colonizer, Japan, through a formal military alliance designed to wage war against China.  This has also entailed engaging in radical historical revisionism and erasure to facilitate this extraordinary coalition. 

Last week 100,000 citizens protested in the streets demanding his immediate resignation — something that received absolutely zero coverage in Western media.  There was still little mention of this in current mainstream Western coverage as a factor  for the short-lived declaration of martial law.

Yoon does not want to lose power, but more importantly the U.S. cannot allow Yoon to lose power: He is essential to shore up alliances, agreements, and an Asian force posture to wage war against China.

Keep reading

South Korea Avoids a Return to the Bad Old Days

North Korea is a dictatorship, and South Korea is a democracy. That’s one of the most basic pieces of conventional wisdom about modern geopolitics. But it wasn’t always so. From its independence in 1945 to its final democratization in 1987, South Korea suffered from a series of coups d’état and military dictatorships.

On Tuesday night, the ghosts of the bad old days came back. President Yoon Suk Yeol, facing corruption investigations and gridlock in the National Assembly, declared martial law, banning all political activities and independent media. Soldiers stormed the Assembly building as protesters attacked them with fire extinguishers.

A few hours later, Yoon lifted martial law after his own party and the National Assembly unanimously voted to stop military rule. It was the latest in a series of cartoonish, ham-handed coup attempts that failed over the past few years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia, Peru, Russia, Brazil, and elsewhere.

The attempt at a military takeover fell apart soon after it started. In defiance of military orders, 190 members of the National Assembly managed to get into the building. All of them voted to end martial law—under South Korean law, the president must respect such a vote—and soldiers retreated from the building.

Yoon justified military rule by smearing his opponents as North Korean stooges. “I am declaring a state of emergency in order to protect the constitutional order based on freedom and eradicate shameful pro-North Korea anti-state groups that are stealing freedom and happiness of our people,” Yoon said on the YTN television station.

The opposition called Yoon’s move an obviously unconstitutional coup attempt. “Tanks, armoured personnel carriers and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country. The economy of the Republic of Korea will collapse irretrievably,” opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said in a livestream. “My fellow citizens, please come to the National Assembly.”

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the second largest workers association in the country, declared “an indefinite general strike until the Yoon administration steps down.” In its statement, the confederation invoked past military coups in 1961 and 1979.

After decades of strongman rule violent transitions of power, South Korea finally became a democracy following the June Democratic Struggle, a mass uprising in June 1987 that forced military dictator Chun Doo-hwan to accept direct presidential elections and a new constitution.

Over the past few months, power in South Korea has been divided between Yoon, member of the right-wing People Power Party, and the left-wing Democratic Party, which controls the National Assembly. The day before the military takeover, Democratic Party lawmakers voted to reduce the government budget by 4 trillion won ($2.82 billion) against Yoon’s will.

The declaration of martial law seems to have been a long shot attempt by Yoon to break the gridlock. But it may have backfired badly. The attempted takeover “may very well serve against Yoon’s presumed intention to safeguard his rule, by potentially driving South Korean public opinion toward greater support of impeachment,” writes James Park in Responsible Statecraft, where I used to be a reporter.

Keep reading

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol Declares Emergency Martial Law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared emergency martial law in the country after accusing the opposition party of “sympathizing with North Korea and of anti-state activities.”

“Through this martial law, I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into the depths of national ruin,” he said during a late-night TV address on Tuesday

“I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country.”

He also asked people to believe him and tolerate “some inconveniences.”

Per CNN:

Yoon did not say what specific measures would be taken. He cited a motion by the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, to impeach top prosecutors and reject a government budget proposal.

Yoon labeled the opposition’s actions as “clear anti-state behavior aimed at inciting rebellion.” He further claimed these acts have “paralyzed state affairs and turned the National Assembly into a den of criminals.”

He describing martial law as a necessary measure to eradicate these “shameless pro-North anti-state forces.” He justified the decision as essential to protect the freedoms and safety of the people, ensure the country’s sustainability, and pass on a stable nation to future generations.

The parliament speaker is traveling to parliament and plans to convene a session, according to local broadcaster YTN TV. Yonhap news agency reported though that the entrance to parliament is blocked and lawmakers are unable to enter.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of treason and collusion with North Korea.

Under the sweeping measures, violators can be arrested without warrants, and habeas corpus has been suspended.

Keep reading

The Man Who Can Help Trump Bring Peace to Korea

Columbia Professor of Genetics Joseph D. Terwilliger has an exceptional resume. Along with his post at an elite institution, he is an accomplished tuba player, speaks a multitude of languages, has traveled to nearly every country on Washington’s official enemies list, and served as translator for NBA legend Dennis Rodman when he traveled to North Korea to meet with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.

So, how did Terwilliger translate the conversation between two of the most fascinating people on the planet?

Part of the story involves his career as a geneticist. He spent years teaching at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. Unlike the perception most Americans have of North Koreans, Joe speaks highly of the people and paints a picture distinctly different from the Kim-run death cult that is often presented.

The other part involves Terwilliger making a $2,500 gamble. After Rodman made his first trip to North Korea, Joe saw an opportunity.

Terwilliger was in North Korea during Rodman’s first visit. He told the Libertarian Institute that he witnessed the students “[rethinking] their stereotypes about Americans” because Rodman was willing to say positive things about their country.

So, Joe won a game of HORSE against Dennis with a $2,500 silent auction bid. There, he and Rodman discussed a return visit to North Korea.

“[The] hope was to engage Kim Jong Un to try and build a relationship based on trust,” a mission Joe believes he was able to accomplish. “When we took the basketball players to [North Korea on Kim’s] birthday, [the supreme leader] remarked that we were the first Americans that ever kept their word.”

During Donald Trump’s first presidency, he showed a willingness to break with long-established policy in Washington, which has insisted that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons before any talks can begin.

Of course, Kim would never give up his nuclear arsenal, as it serves as a deterrent to an attack from the United States. But that does not mean relations with the DPRK could not improve.

Keep reading

U.S. Military Bases in South Korea and Japan Arouse Persistent Protests

On August 12, 2024, around 2,500 Okinawans including the island’s governor staged a demonstration near Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

The main focus of the protest—organized by the anti-U.S. military political party All Okinawa and two civic groups fighting in the courts to eliminate base aircraft noise—was a rash of sexual assaults allegedly committed against local women by U.S. servicemen stationed at the base.

In March, a senior airman, Brennon R.E. Washington was indicted on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor. In June, prosecutors indicted Marine Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton on attempted sexual assault charges.

All Okinawa co-chairman Susumu Inamine, a former mayor of Nago city, told the crowd that the Japanese government had been hiding information regarding these and other cases, and that even Okinawa’s governor was kept in the dark, which, she said, was “unforgivable.” Other speakers at the rally condemned the recent return of Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey flights over the island, which are known for making a lot of noise.

Keep reading

Exposing The Hypocrisy Of South Korea’s Response To Rumors Of The North Fighting Ukraine

It’s surprising that South Korea prefers for there to be more North Korean troops along the DMZ to fight against in the event that war resumes than in Ukraine and is even willing to deplete some of its gargantuan stockpiles that it’s built up to prepare for that worst-case scenario just for Kiev’s sake.

The claims that North Korea sent troops to fight Ukraine, which have been circulating for the past two weeks and were recently analyzed here, have elicited a hypocritical response from South Korea. Its Deputy Foreign Minister first summoned the Russian Ambassador to demand the immediate withdrawal of its northern neighbor’s troops. This was then followed by a senior presidential aide telling the media that Seoul might soon send defensive and possibly even offensive arms to Ukraine if they don’t leave.

The first half implies that South Korea prefers for there to be more troops to fight against in the event that war resumes than for them to be abroad fighting Ukraine, while the second implies that it’s willing to deplete its stockpiles that were gathered for use against the North in order to help Kiev. Seoul has thus far resisted pressure upon it to send shells for supplying NATO’s proxy against Russia, at least officially, but the latest claims (irrespective of their veracity) might serve to move the needle on this.

South Korea has one of the world’s largest shell stockpiles, which could perpetuate the Ukrainian Conflict by replenishing Kiev’s forces at this critical moment when Western supplies are becoming exhausted, but it’s hitherto preferred to hold onto them in case war resumes with the North. Any change in this calculation would be significant since it would suggest that South Korea no longer assesses that there’s a high risk of that possibly happening anytime soon like has been the case for decades already.

It would also imply that South Korea finally feels comfortable enough depleting some of its gargantuan stockpiles for Ukraine’s sake even though one might have thought that it would hold on to them amidst rumors that North Korea has already sent shells, missiles, and now troops to Russia. After all, everything that North Korea reportedly gives to Russia is something less that it keeps in reserve for possible use against South Korea, yet Seoul’s hypocritical response contradicts that logic.

Seeing as how its interests aren’t served by having more North Korean troops and equipment along the DMZ, this can only mean that ulterior motives are responsible, namely US pressure upon South Korea to help perpetuate the Ukrainian Conflict as it approaches what might soon become a turning point. Russia is winning the “race of logistics”/“war of attrition” by far, so much so that even CNN recently drew attention to this. There’s thus an increasingly urgent need for Ukraine to obtain South Korean shells.

Keep reading

Are North and South Korea escalating toward war?

A series of escalatory events on the Korean peninsula have intensified tensions between the two Koreas in recent weeks.

On October 13, Seoul and Pyongyang exchanged harsh verbal threats of military action over alleged drone incursions from South Korea into the northern capital. According to North Korea’s claim, the South Korean drone scattered anti-regime propaganda leaflets across Pyongyang.

Exactly who was behind the drone infiltrations remains unclear, but analysts have speculated that the South Korean military or South Korea-based anti-North activists could be involved.

The incident prompted Pyongyang to order its border troops to prepare for military retaliation if South Korean drones were to infiltrate again, threatening a “horrible disaster.” In turn, Seoul also put its frontline military on high alert, with a defense ministry statement that “if North Korea inflicts any harm on the safety of South Koreans, that day will be the end of the North Korean regime.”

Keep reading

U.S. Airbase Authorizes Troops To Wear LGBT ‘Pride Patch’ Alongside Real Badges Of Honor

The latest example of the politicization of the military under the Biden administration (and there are many) has been revealed by Stars and Stripes. It reports that the commander of the Osan Air Force base in South Korea has authorized troops on the base to wear a “pride morale patch” on their military uniforms, in public and while on duty.

Insignia and patches on a soldier’s uniform used to serve the purpose of telling you something about the military qualifications and experience of the soldier. They now can also signal whether a soldier ascribes to the Democrat Party’s current political trends.

The patches, badges, and ribbons on a soldier’s uniform can tell you a lot about the person, including their current assignment, the unit they served with in combat, their time in service and in overseas deployments in a combat theater, campaigns in which they have served, and sometimes their performance in combat.

The patches and badges are not just informative, they are sources of immense pride in military assignments and achievements. For example, soldiers take great pride in being assigned to an elite unit, such as the Ranger Regiment, Special Forces, or the 82d Airborne, and proudly wear their patches or insignia on their uniforms. When you see a soldier proudly wearing a Ranger scroll as the patch on his right shoulder, you know he has served in combat with one of the most elite military units in the world.

The Combat Infantryman’s badge, known as a “CIB,” is also a prestigious and coveted award that veterans of infantry combat wear proudly.

In short, these and other insignia, patches, and ribbons on a soldier’s uniform are like a biography of his military career and accomplishments. They tell you who he is, where he’s been, and what he’s done. And although they are not called “pride” patches or insignia, they are worn with pride in what they represent.

Keep reading