South Korea faces a political crisis as President Yoon Suk Yeol, under criminal investigation for martial law declaration, defies resignation calls. Military dissent and economic concerns escalate tensions.
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is still commander in chief and there is no disruption to the U.S. alliance, the defence ministry said on Monday after it was revealed Yoon was under criminal investigation for declaring martial law last week.
Yoon's grip on power has come into question with dissent growing among senior military officers against the president, and his own party saying it would establish a task force to handle his eventual resignation.
While Yoon survived an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, his party's decision to delegate presidential authority to the prime minister has plunged the key U.S. ally into a constitutional crisis.
Yoon has refused calls, including some from within his own ruling party, to resign, but his future looked more uncertain over the weekend when Yonhap news agency reported he was under criminal investigation for alleged treason.
Police were also considering banning him from leaving the country, Yonhap and other media reported on Monday.
Prosecutors on Sunday arrested ex-Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in the declaration of martial law, Yonhap reported.
Yoon gave the military sweeping emergency powers on Dec. 3 to root out what he called "anti-state forces" and obstructionist political opponents. He rescinded the order six hours later, after parliament defied military and police cordons to vote unanimously against the decree.
Amid the backlash, multiple military officials, including the acting defence minister, have said they would not follow any new order to impose martial law again.
The main opposition Democratic Party has called for Yoon to be stripped of authority to control the military. The DP has also demanded the arrest of Yoon and any military officials implicated in the martial law fiasco.
Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) had established a task force to deal with, among other matters, "political stabilisation after martial law and (Yoon's) orderly early resignation", a spokesperson said on Monday.
On Sunday, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said the president would be excluded from foreign and other state affairs, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would manage government affairs until Yoon eventually stepped aside.
That proposal has drawn criticism from the opposition, which says it is unconstitutional. It says Yoon must be impeached or resign and face legal prosecution, and plans to table another impeachment bill on Saturday.
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung warned on Monday that the political crisis threatened to do irreversible harm to Asia's fourth-largest economy, major global supplier of memory chips.
South Korea's finance ministry and regulators said they would make all-out efforts to stabilise financial markets by deploying contingency plans and boosting liquidity by end-December.
MILITARY BACKLASH
In the latest sign of dissent within military ranks, the commander of South Korea's special forces said he was ordered to send his troops into parliament last week to stop a vote to reject martial law.
Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, the commanding officer of the 707th Special Missions Group, told reporters he took responsibility for his troops' actions but he was acting under orders from then defence minister Kim Yong-hyun.
"We were all victims who were used by the former defence minister," the colonel told reporters outside the defence ministry in Seoul.
He said he had not told the military about his plan to speak to the media out of fear he might be stopped.
Yoon's decision to declare emergency rule and grant the military sweeping powers stirred protests on the streets and raised alarm among Seoul's allies.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin scrapped plans to travel to South Korea and Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his South Korean counterpart, saying he expected the democratic process to prevail.
The United States has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The turmoil in Seoul comes at an important geopolitical moment in the region, with North Korea allegedly sending troops to help Russia's war against Ukraine amid growing military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Storm Claudia, which brought violent weather to Portugal, has resulted in the deaths of three people and left dozens injured, authorities reported on ...
A landslide caused by heavy rainfall in Central Java has claimed the lives of 11 people, Indonesia's disaster management agency reported on Saturday. ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation on Saturday to discuss the situation in Gaza ...
Iraq’s election commission said on Saturday that objections to the parliamentary election results will not affect the preliminary outcomes....
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has firmly ruled out any possibility of U.S. military intervention in her country, stressing that security coop...
The U.S. and South Korea revealed the details of a significant trade agreement on Friday, which includes a $150 billion investment from South Korea in the American shipbuilding sector and an additional $200 billion to be allocated across various industrial sectors.
Two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korea's Lee Jae Myung met and announced they had resolved months of negotiations over tariffs and security issues, the two sides have yet to release any formal agreement.
China says it will make adjustments to the catalogue of drug-related precursor chemicals and will require licences for export of certain chemicals to the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
South Korean rescue teams have recovered a third body from the wreckage following the collapse of a large structure at a power station, local media reported on Sunday.
Britain’s King Charles III marks his 77th birthday. Unlike his predecessors, King Charles treats his actual birthday, on 14 November, as his main moment of reflection. This year, King Charles visited Wales—a decision that coincides with the overall spirit of his first three years on the throne.
The Azerbaijan embassy in Kyiv was damaged by debris from an Iskander missile during Russia’s overnight attack, which killed four people and injured dozens, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.
Iran has strongly rejected as “unfounded and irresponsible” a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) about Tehran’s nuclear program and its alleged support of Russia in the war with Ukraine.
A night‑time attack by Israeli settlers on a mosque in the occupied West Bank village has drawn strong condemnation from the United Nations and raised alarm over a broader spike in settler‑linked violence.
A ministerial meeting was held in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, for the implementation of the Agreement on Strategic Partnership in the Development and Transmission of Green Energy between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania.
U.S. President Donald Trump purchased at least $82 million in corporate and municipal bonds between late August and early October, including new investments in sectors benefiting from his policies, according to financial disclosures made public on Saturday.
Thousands of climate demonstrators filled the streets of Belém on Saturday, marching loudly and peacefully to demand stronger action to protect the planet and to voice frustration at governments and the fossil fuel industry.
Storm Claudia, which brought violent weather to Portugal, has resulted in the deaths of three people and left dozens injured, authorities reported on Saturday. Meanwhile, in Britain, rescue teams were organising evacuations due to heavy flooding in Wales and England.
A landslide caused by heavy rainfall in Central Java has claimed the lives of 11 people, Indonesia's disaster management agency reported on Saturday. Rescue teams are still searching for a dozen individuals who remain missing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation on Saturday to discuss the situation in Gaza and the wider region, the Kremlin said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment