[Breaking] South Korea's parliament votes to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol

President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from duty Saturday following the National Assembly’s passage of a motion to initiate his impeachment process. The motion was passed with a 204-85 vote, with three abstentions and eight invalid votes. He became the third South Korean president to face impeachment. With Yoon suspended, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo assumes the role of acting president, while the Constitutional Court reviews whether to either remove or reinstate the president. Yoon was unde

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

Voting begins on Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment

South Korea's National Assembly commenced a crucial vote on President Yoon Suk Yeol's fate at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The ruling People Power Party said that the party's official stance is to vote against the opposition-led motion to impeach the current president over the conservative president's controversial imposition of martial law on Dec. 3. A presidential impeachment motion requires 200 votes out of a possible 300 to pass. The decision, announced by Rep. Kweon Seong-

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

Broadcaster claims assassination plot; ruling party dismisses allegation

An alleged assassination plot was unable to proceed as planned as President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law imposition on Dec. 3 was short-lived, claimed a liberal figure at the National Assembly on Friday. Radio show host Kim Ou-joon told lawmakers at the Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee that he had obtained information that troops dedicated to special operations were on standby for an assassination operation. Kim was earlier revealed to have been one of

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

[Photo News] Rallies sweep South Korea

As South Korea’s National Assembly prepared to hold a decisive vote on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment at 4 p.m. today, thousands of citizens gathered across the country to make their voices heard in both support and opposition to the embattled leader. In Seoul, protesters demanding Yoon’s resignation assembled near the National Assembly in Yeouido, organized by the Yoon Suk Yeol Impeachment Promotion Group, a coalition of 1,500 civic, labor and social organizations. Part

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2024

Hours before second impeachment vote, Seoul streets fill with rival protests

Hours before a critical impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk Yeol, tens of thousands of protesters poured into Seoul's streets Saturday, transforming the capital into a vivid display of a nation divided. By early afternoon, an estimated 85,000 people had converged on Yeouido, home to the National Assembly, according to police estimates. The crowd, demanding Yoon's removal from office, filled main thoroughfares and narrow alleyways, moving in a slow human tide toward the parliame

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2024

Ruling party likely to take part in impeachment vote

The ruling People Power Party is likely to take part in the vote on the motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol at 4 p.m. that day. The party line will remain likely against the motion, a ruling party lawmaker told reporters around noon. More news to follow.

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

Parliament set to vote on Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment at 4 p.m.

South Korea’s legislature is set to vote on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol at 4 p.m. today, following his controversial decision to impose martial law last week. The opposition parties, united in this effort, currently hold 192 of the 200 votes needed for impeachment. Additionally, seven lawmakers from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party have said they will back the impeachment, bringing the number of lawmakers publicly in support of the motion just one shy of the total re

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

Dozens of Korean Americans stage rally calling for Yoon's impeachment

Some 50 Korean Americans held a rally in front of the White House in Washington on Friday to call for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law attempt last week as they underscored their support for a resilient democracy in South Korea. A civic group, called the Global Candlelight Action, organized the event in tandem with various other activist groups. Such rallies have taken place or been set to occur in more than a dozen US cities this week, including New York,

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

DP urges PPP to join impeachment motion, calls refusal 'treason against the people'

With the opposition-led parliament set to vote on the second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, the major opposition Democratic Party called on the ruling People Power Party to join the vote, warning any refusal would constitute "treason against the people." "The only way to safeguard democracy and South Korea's future is by overwhelmingly passing the impeachment motion," DP spokeswoman Hwang Jung-a said in a briefing. "At this very mome

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

PPP leader Han urges lawmakers to prioritize nation ahead of 2nd impeachment vote

Ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon urged lawmakers on Saturday to prioritize the country and the people ahead of the second vote in the National Assembly on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol. "I have already clearly given my opinion to both the people and (fellow) lawmakers," Han said on his way to his office, commenting on the upcoming vote. "Today, we must all think about the country and the people." He did not elaborate on his expectations

PoliticsDec. 14, 2024

[From the Scene] College students hold joint rally to urge Yoon’s impeachment

On a cold Friday evening, university students filled the streets of Sinchon in Seodaemun-gu, western Seoul, urging for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and the severe punishment of those involved in his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. At around 6 p.m., the streets of Yonseiro in Sinchon, generally filled with busking performances by young performers at this hour, began to swell with students instead, who held signs reading “Yoon Suk Yeol, step down immediately&rdq

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2024

Prosecution arrests chief of Capital Defense Command

Prosecutors on Friday arrested Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, the chief of the Capital Defense Command, as part of their ongoing investigation into his alleged involvement in President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law. "The commander was arrested this evening under a warrant," the prosecution said. Lee, who had previously been placed under a travel ban, is accused of ordering the deployment of martial law troops to the National Assembly building after Yoon declared martial l

PoliticsDec. 13, 2024

S. Korea reports new avian influenza case at regional farm

South Korea has confirmed its 10th case of highly pathogenic avian influenza for the season at a regional farm, authorities said Friday. The latest case was detected at a duck farm in Buan, North Jeolla Province, some 204 kilometers south of Seoul, where 22,000 ducks were being raised, according to the authorities. To prevent further spread, officials are currently controlling access to the farm to carry out investigations, while culling the affected ducks. They will also conduct thorough inspec

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2024

Rallies for Yoon's impeachment held day before impeachment vote

Nationwide rallies took place Friday, a day before the National Assembly votes on a second motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over a botched martial law attempt. Civic groups organized the candlelight vigil in front of the National Assembly in western Seoul, while smaller groups gathered in other parts of the country to continue their demonstrations calling for Yoon's removal from office. "Oust him," read one picket sign, while another called to "Disperse the People Po

PoliticsDec. 13, 2024

[Reporter's Notebook] Press freedoms taken for granted

It was another casual night after work on Dec. 3, replete with glasses of "somaek," a beer cocktail mixed with a shot of soju. No one at the reporters' unofficial dinner gathering with the administrative staff of President Yoon Suk Yeol's office had any idea that one of the biggest threat to South Korea's democracy in the 21st century was about to break out. Not too long into the dinner, news that the presidential office would make a "shocking announcement" spr

PoliticsDec. 13, 2024

Minor opposition leader Cho Kuk set to begin his imprisonment Monday

Minor party leader Cho Kuk is set to begin his two-year prison sentence next week as prosecutors Friday approved his request for a postponement. On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld Cho's conviction on charges of academic fraud involving his children and unlawful interference in a government inspection. Following the ruling, Cho requested a delay in his imprisonment, citing the need to address official duties, including transferring the leadership of his party. The Seoul Central District

PoliticsDec. 13, 2024

Yoon continues to exercise rights; ruling party urges for presidential veto on grain law

With President Yoon Suk Yeol continuing to exercise presidential rights with key appointments, the ruling party's floor leader on Friday requested that he veto bills recently passed by the opposition-controlled parliament, including for a contentious law that would mandate government intervention on rice prices. Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party said in a press conference that the president should reject the bills passed on Nov. 28, accusing the main opposition Democratic Part

PoliticsDec. 13, 2024

Small minority of young 'shy Yoon supporters' emerge in Korea's polarized politics

While the majority of Korean millennials and Generation Z rallying at protests are demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, a small minority of young Koreans are anonymously voicing support for his controversial martial law declaration online -- revealing the entrenched polarization in Korean politics. The divide is evident across university campuses. Student councils at 38 universities nationwide, including Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University, issued a

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2024

Assembly vote on Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment set for 4 p.m. Saturday

The National Assembly has rescheduled its vote on the motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, moving it up by an hour to 4 p.m. on Saturday, according to the office of National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik on Friday. This came after 190 lawmakers of all six opposition parties and independent lawmaker Rep. Kim Jong-min tabled the impeachment motion to the National Assembly at around 2 p.m. Under South Korean law, a voting session may convene 24 hours after the motion is tabled, and must

PoliticsDec. 13, 2024

Will Bae Hyun-jin be crucial 8th ruling party lawmaker to back impeachment?

With one more ruling People Power Party lawmaker required to vote in favor of Saturday’s impeachment vote to pass, Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the ruling bloc appears likely to become the eighth legislator to back the second impeachment vote against President Yoon Suk Yeol. Bae shared her decision to cast a vote in the second impeachment attempt in a social media post on Tuesday, in a reversal after joining the ruling party's organized boycott of the vote on Dec. 7. The young lawmaker did no

PoliticsDec. 13, 2024