South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives for his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea on January 21, 2025. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“South Korean prosecutors on Sunday (January 26, 2025) indicted the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his imposition of martial law last month,” news reports said.

Yonhap news agency reported that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Yoon over rebellion in connection with his December 3 decree that plunged the country into massive political turmoil. Other South Korean media outlets have carried similar reports.

Repeated calls to the prosecutors’ office were unanswered.

Mr. Yoon was earlier impeached and arrested over the martial law decree. The Constitutional Court is separately deliberating whether to formally dismiss Mr. Yoon as President or reinstate him.

Mr. Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, calling his martial law a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly which obstructed his agenda and impeached top officials.

During his announcement of martial law, Mr. Yoon called the assembly “a den of criminals” and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces”.

Seoul:

Thousands of South Korean protesters braved a snowstorm Sunday over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol who was still resisting arrest over a failed martial law bid less than 48 hours before the warrant expires.

Yoon plunged the country into political chaos last month with the bungled martial law declaration and has since holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by hundreds of loyal security officers resisting arrest efforts.

On Saturday, thousands descended on his residence and major roads in Seoul a day after a failed arrest attempt — with one camp demanding Yoon’s arrest while the other calling for his impeachment to be declared invalid. 

Pro-Yoon supporters massed again in front of his home Sunday despite bitter snow conditions hammering the capital overnight that left it under a white blanket, while an anti-Yoon rally was slated for 2 pm local time (0500 GMT).

“Snow is nothing for me. They can bring all the snow and we’ll still be here,” said anti-Yoon protester Lee Jin-ah, 28, who had previously worked at a coffee shop.

“I quit my job to come to protect our country and democracy,” she said, adding that she had camped outside the residence overnight.  

Park Young-chul, in his 70s, said the snowstorm wouldn’t deter him from showing up to back Yoon before the warrant expires at midnight on Monday.

“I went through war and minus 20 degrees in the snow to fight the commies. This snow is nothing. Our war is happening again,” he told AFP.

The rallies in the cold come as Yoon this week said he was watching protests in support of his rule on a YouTube livestream, pledging to “fight” those trying to question his short-lived power grab.

Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.

If the warrant is executed, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.

Blinken Wades In

The country’s opposition Democratic Party called for the dissolution of the security service protecting Yoon after investigators met a wall of hundreds of security forces preventing access to him.

“The Presidential Security Service has violated the constitution, effectively positioning itself as a force of insurrection,” floor leader Park Chan-dae told parliament Saturday.

“There is no longer any justification for its existence.”

The service’s top officials refused a police request Saturday for questioning, citing the “serious nature” of protecting Yoon.

The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), probing the martial law declaration, and the opposition urged acting president Choi Sang-mok — in office for just a week and a party colleague of Yoon — to order the presidential security service to cooperate.

Late Sunday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Seoul, likely to wade into the crisis of a key security ally in talks Monday with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul.

He is expected to delicately encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president. 

Yoon’s lawyers decried Friday’s arrest attempt as “unlawful and invalid”, and vowed to take legal action.

In scenes of high drama, Yoon’s guards and military troops shielded him from investigators who eventually called off Friday’s arrest attempt citing safety concerns.

The Constitutional Court slated January 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which if he does not attend would continue in his absence. 

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to determine whether to dismiss Yoon as president or restore his powers.

Until then, while suspended, Yoon holds the title of president.

Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A Boeing 737-800 aircraft, operated by Jeju Air, crashed at the Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday morning, likely killing 179 passengers onboard. The flight was carrying a total of 181 people, including six crew members. Two survivors – one crew member and one passenger – were pulled from the wreckage during an ongoing rescue operation, according to South Korean officials.

Footage broadcast by South Korea’s MBC network showed the Boeing 737-8AS, operated by Jeju Air and travelling from Bangkok to South Korea, touching down on the runway with smoke billowing from its engines. Moments later, the plane was engulfed in flames.

Rescue efforts continue as investigators work to determine the cause of the crash.

Follow live updates here: 

Seoul, South Korea:

South Korean lawmakers impeached the acting president on Friday as the country struggles to shake off political turmoil sparked by his predecessor’s declaration of marital law.

Here’s a look at how the second impeachment of a South Korean head of state happened in just two weeks, and what might happen next.

WHAT HAPPENED TODAY?

South Korean lawmakers impeached the acting president. All 192 MPs who voted in the session cast their ballots in favour of removing acting President Han Duck-soo.

Han took on the role on December 14, when President Yoon Suk Yeol was suspended from the post by a parliamentary vote following his short-lived attempt to enforce martial law.

A constitutional court will decide whether Yoon’s removal will be permanent.

Opposition lawmakers said they voted to oust Han because he was obstructing the court by refusing to appoint three new judges to the nine-member bench.

Six judges must uphold the decision to oust Yoon. Because the bench currently only has six members, a single vote could see him reinstated.

The opposition party’s impeachment motion said Han was “intentionally avoiding the special investigation to probe those involved in the insurrection”.

They said his actions were “in violation of a public official’s duty to uphold the law”.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Han said he “respects the parliament’s decision”. Like Yoon, he is now also waiting for the constitutional court to decide whether his removal will be permanent.

The court has 180 days to render its verdict.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will now become the acting president.

Choi said in a statement that “minimising governmental turmoil is of utmost importance at this moment” and on Friday convened a meeting of the National Security Council.

The crisis that ousted Han may also cascade down to Choi. He will also be pressured by the opposition to accept the appointment of constitutional judges.

If he refuses he may also face his own impeachment — opening a new chapter of absurdity.

WHO IS CHOI SANG-MOK?

Choi now has three roles: acting President, Prime Minister and Finance Minister of South Korea.

“We’ve had an acting president before,” said Lee Jun-han, a politics professor at Incheon National University. “But this is the first time we’ve had a substitute for a substitute.”

Lee said that despite Choi’s many roles “it won’t be impossible” for him to do them all. Choi is a tested bureaucrat with decades of experience in the finance ministry.

At a recent press conference he pledged to steer the economy through political turmoil.

“We are confident that our robust and resilient economic system will ensure rapid stabilisation,” he said.

WHAT DO LAWMAKERS SAY?

Opposition lawmakers cheered when National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik said only a simple majority was needed in the 300-member parliament to impeach Han.

The opposition won a majority in parliamentary elections in April, meaning he was easily removed.

The ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) lawmakers protested in parliament, arguing that a two-thirds majority should have been required to remove Han.

The PPP immediately filed an injunction against Woo, saying his “actions are fundamentally invalid” because they have violated the constitution.

WHAT ABOUT YOON?

The constitutional court held its first preliminary hearing on the validity of Yoon’s impeachment on Friday, with the suspended president’s legal team attending.

The court said in a statement the hearing would focus on his decision to declare martial law and mobilise military and police forces to blockade parliament.

With the court deliberating Yoon’s impeachment, a decision on Han’s impeachment will take more time, predicted Kim Hyun-jung, a researcher at the Korea University Institute of Law.

“The seriousness of the presidential impeachment, the significance of the office, and the current state of extreme political turmoil all underscore the urgency of addressing this matter swiftly,” said Kim.

“The court cannot do two things at once.”
 

A demonstrator holds a poster during a protest calling for the ouster of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside the National Assembly in Seoul on December 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The story so far:

For a brief while on December 3, South Korea, a country with a history of military rule, had fleeting visions of its past, as President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed emergency martial law. This would have curbed the activities of political parties, brought the media under the ambit of law, and required protesting workers to resume duties.

What followed the declaration?

Yielding to pressure, Mr. Yoon repealed the law within six hours after lawmakers braved Army troops to vote 190-0 against it at the 300-member strong Parliament. This included 18 members of Mr. Yoon’s People’s Power Party (PPP). The opposition filed an impeachment motion against the President. But on Saturday, lawmakers from the PPP staged a walkout when the National Assembly met to discuss impeaching the President, and therefore, the motion failed.

What is the history of the law?

South Korea’s constitution states that martial law can be imposed to “cope with a military necessity, or to maintain the public safety and order, by mobilisation of the military forces in time of war, armed conflict or similar national emergency.” The law can be repealed if overturned by a majority in the National Assembly. Between the end of the Second World War and South Korea’s transition to democracy in 1987, martial law has been imposed 16 times.

Park Chung-hee, who came to power in 1961 through a military coup, had imposed martial law multiple times during his 17-year reign. Major General Chun Doo-hwan, who came after Park, oversaw one of the darkest chapters in the history of martial law when troops cracked down on a pro-democracy uprising in the city of Gwangju, killing at least 200 people in 1980.

What led to the decision?

At the time of Mr. Yoon’s ascension to the President’s chair in 2022 (with a razor-thin majority of 0.8 percentage-points), the National Assembly was already dominated by the opposition Democratic Party. A victory for them in this year’s parliamentary elections landed Mr. Yoon in a precarious position, making him the first South Korean leader in decades without a majority in the National Assembly. This led to constant bickering, with the President vetoing Bills and accusing the opposition of filing 22 impeachment motions against his administration officials. Coupled with the latest argument over a Budget Bill, the stand-off culminated in Mr. Yoon declaring martial law to stop “shameless pro-North anti-state forces that plunder the freedom and happiness of our people”, terming the Assembly a “monster that destroys the liberal democratic system”.

What has been Mr. Yoon’s track-record?

A prosecutor by profession, Mr. Yoon came to power succeeding Moon Jae-in from the Democratic Party. During his career, the 63-year-old has handled several high-profile cases, including the investigation and conviction of former President Park Geun-hye. In comparison to Mr. Moon, who struck a conciliatory tone with North Korea by meeting its leader Kim Jong-un, the Conservative Mr. Yoon has adopted a hawkish approach. He called for increased military drills and economic sanctions on Pyongyang, in moves perceived as an overture to bolster ties with the U.S.

On the domestic front, increasing home prices and rising unemployment have kept his administration busy. The country is home to an ageing population and has the world’s lowest birthrate. The government’s efficacy was first put to test on October 29, 2022, at the Halloween weekend stampede where 159 people were killed at a popular nightlife district in Seoul. The authorities’ response to the incident came under sharp criticism. The second challenge came in the form of the doctors’ protest which began in February 2024, when the government decided to admit more medical students to address staff shortages. The medical workers wanted the government to address their harsh working conditions and dismal pay before recruiting more students. Another blot on Mr. Yoon’s career was the bribery charges levelled against his wife, Kim Keon Hee, who was caught on camera receiving a $2,200 Dior pouch as a gif. These factors, clubbed with his anti-feminist policies and attacks against the media for spreading ‘fake news’, led the President’s approval points to drop to a 17% last month.

What has been the aftermath?

While Mr. Yoon apologised, senior aides to Mr. Yoon offered to resign en masse. Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is believed to have recommended martial law to Mr. Yoon, resigned from his post. The opposition’s impeachment motion had the backing of citizens and labour unions who have gone on strike in Seoul. Allies of Mr. Yoon such as the leader of his PPP party, Han Dong-hoon, termed the martial law imposition wrong and suggested withdrawing President Yoon’s constitutional powers. However, lawmakers from the PPP staged a walkout during the discussion on the impeachment motion. The National Assembly is empowered to impeach the President if more than two-thirds of the members support the motion. The opposition currently holds 192 seats in the 300-strong Parliament while Mr. Yoon’s party has 108 members. The opposition needed eight members of the PPP to break ranks and join its cause for impeachment to come through.

Under South Korean constitutional law, if a President is removed from office, his powers are suspended until the Constitutional Court makes a final decision. Once his or her termination is confirmed, the election for a new President must be held in 60 days.

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun, right, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on December 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

South Korea’s governing party chief expressed support Friday (December 6, 2024) for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law this week, in a bombshell reversal that makes Mr. Yoon’s impeachment more likely.

Opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote on Mr. Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday (December 7, 2024), calling his short-lived martial law declaration an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” But they need support from some members of the president’s People Power Party to get the two-thirds majority required to pass the impeachment motion.

ALSO READ | Timeline of South Korea’s martial law declaration

The turmoil resulting from Mr. Yoon’s nighttime martial law decree has frozen South Korean politics and caused worry among neighbours, including fellow democracy Japan, and Seoul’s top ally, the United States, as one of the strongest democracies in Asia faces a political crisis that could unseat its leader.

During a party meeting, PPP leader Han Dong-hun stressed the need to suspend Mr. Yoon’s presidential duties and power swiftly, saying he poses a “significant risk of extreme actions, like reattempting to impose martial law, which could potentially put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger.”

Mr. Han said he had received intelligence that Mr. Yoon had ordered the country’s defence counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities” during the brief period martial law was in force.

“It’s my judgment that an immediate suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official duties is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Mr. Han said.

Mr. Han earlier said he would work to defeat the impeachment motion even though he criticised Mr. Yoon’s martial law declaration as “unconstitutional.” Mr. Han said there was a need to “prevent damage to citizens and supporters caused by unprepared chaos.”

Protests in Seoul

Thousands of protesters have marched in the streets Seoul since Wednesday, calling for Mr. Yoon to resign and be investigated. Thousands of autoworkers and other members of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, one of the country’s biggest umbrella labor groups, have started hourly strikes since Thursday to protest Mr. Yoon. The union said its members will start on indefinite strikes beginning on December 11 if Mr. Yoon was still in office then.

EDITORIAL | Costly miscalculation: On the South Korean President’s announcement of martial law

Impeaching Mr. Yoon would require support from 200 of the National Assembly’s 300 members. The opposition parties who jointly brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats combined. PPP has 108 lawmakers.

In a televised statement, South Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho promised the ministry’s “active cooperation” with an investigation by prosecutors into the military’s role in Mr. Yoon’s martial law enforcement. He said military prosecutors will also be involved in the probe. He denied media speculation that Yoon and his military confidantes might consider imposing martial law a second time.

“Even if there’s a demand to enforce martial law, the Ministry of Defence and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will absolutely not accept it,” Mr. Kim said.

Defence Minister recommended martial law

Mr. Kim became the acting defence minister after Mr. Yoon’s office on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who has been hit with a travel ban and faces an investigation over his role in Yoon’s imposition of martial law.

Opposition parties and Mr. Han allege that it was Kim Yong Hyun who recommended that Mr. Yoon take the step. During a parliamentary hearing on Thursday, Kim Seon Ho said Kim Yong Hyun also ordered troops to be deployed to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law.

Mr. Han was previously regarded as a close associate of Mr. Yoon as they spent years working together as prosecutors and he served as Mr. Yoon’s first justice minister. But after Mr. Han entered party politics and became PPP leader, their ties soured badly as they differed over how to handle scandals involving Yoon and his wife.

Mr. Han leads a minority faction within the ruling party, and 18 lawmakers in his faction voted with opposition lawmakers to overturn Mr. Yoon’s martial law decree. Martial law ultimately lasted about six hours, after the quick overrule by the National Assembly forced Mr. Yoon’s Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.

What happens if Yoon is impeached

If Mr. Yoon is impeached, he would be suspended until the Constitutional Court rules on whether to remove him from office or restore his presidential power. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country’s No. 2 official, would take over presidential responsibilities.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said in a televised speech Friday that it was crucial to suspend Mr. Yoon as “quickly as possible.”

Mr. Lee said Mr. Yoon’s martial law enforcement amounted to “rebellion and also a self-coup.” He said Mr. Yoon’s move caused serious damage to the country’s image and paralysed foreign policy, pointing to criticism from the Biden administration and foreign leaders canceling their visits to South Korea.

Seoul:

The lawmakers of South Korea’s opposition coalition on Wednesday moved a motion in the Asian country’s Parliament to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his shocking imposition of martial law that brought thousands of protesters to the streets.

A South Korean man has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for deliberately gaining more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) to evade a tougher role in the country’s military conscription system, a Seoul court said Tuesday (November 26, 2024).

In South Korea, all able-bodied men must serve in the military for 18-21 months, but individuals with health issues can instead carry out their duties at non-military facilities such as welfare centers and community service centers. If their problems are serious, they are exempted from their military duties.

The Seoul Eastern District Court said it sentenced the man to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the country’s military service act.

The court said an acquaintance of the man received a suspended 1-year prison term for aiding his crime.

Local media reported they are friends, both aged 26, but the court said it couldn’t confirm the reports.

An exam in 2017 found the man suitable to become an active-duty soldier at 169 centimeters (5 feet 6 inches) tall and weighting 83 kilograms (183 pounds). But with the advice of his acquaintance that he could get a social service grade if he was overweight, he doubled his daily food consumption, focused on eating high-calorie food products and quit his part-time job as a delivery worker, according to the court’s public affairs office.

In three physical exams from 2022-2023, the man weighted 102-105 kilograms (225-231 pounds), a weight that made him fit for social service. Just before those exams, he drank a large amount of water as well, according to the court.

It was unclear how the crime was caught and whether the man began serving his military duty before he was tried. The court only said the man had promised to fulfill his military duty faithfully.

The court said both the defendants and prosecutors didn’t appeal the Nov. 13 ruling.

South Korea maintains a military conscription system due to threats from rival North Korea. But exemptions or dodging of military duties is a highly sensitive domestic issue, because the draft forces young men to suspend their studies or professional careers.

Each year, about 50-60 cases of dodging military duties have been reported, according to the Military Manpower Administration. It said common ways to evade military duties include gaining or losing weight excessively or men with health issues not taking necessary medical treatments before physical tests.

South Korea’s Government said on Saturday (November 23, 2024) it will not attend a memorial service near Japan’s Sado Island Gold Mines due to unspecified disagreements with Tokyo over the event, which stirred longstanding tensions over the abuse of Korean forced labourers at the site before the end of World War II.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement it was impossible to settle the disagreements between both Governments before the planned event on Sunday (November 24, 2024).

The ministry didn’t specify what the disagreements were.

Some South Koreans had criticised the Seoul government throwing its support behind an event without securing a clear Japanese commitment to highlight the plight of Korean labourers. There were also complaints over South Korea agreeing to pay for the travel expenses of Korean victims’ family members who were invited to attend the ceremony.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has prioritised improving relations with Japan following years of disputes over their bitter history and solidifying three-way security cooperation with Washington in the face of North Korean nuclear threats.

Seoul:

Twenty-two people were killed — including 18 Chinese nationals — in a massive fire at a South Korean lithium battery factory, the fire department said Monday, one of the country’s worst factory disasters in years.

Over 100 people were working in the factory when workers heard a series of explosions from the second floor, where lithium-ion batteries were being inspected and packaged, firefighter Kim Jin-young told media.

In the massive blaze that ensued, twenty-two people were killed, including 20 foreign nationals — 18 Chinese, one from Laos, and one of unknown nationality, he said.

At least 21 people have died in a fire at a lithium battery plant in South Korea. pic.twitter.com/kzQKnhbOYf

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 24, 2024

“Most of the bodies are badly burned so it will take some time to identify each one,” he added.

Firefighters are still searching for one more person who remains unaccounted for, he said, adding that they had managed to contain the largest blaze at the plant and get inside.

Firefighters were “doing cooling operations to prevent the fire from expanding to nearby factories,” Kim said.

Dozens of fire trucks were lined up outside the factory, an AFP reporter saw, with rescue workers carrying bodies, covered by blue blankets, out of the building on stretchers.

Images shared by Yonhap after the fire broke out showed huge plumes of billowing grey smoke rising into the sky above the factory, with orange flames inside the building.

The vast factory had an estimated 35,000 battery cells on the second floor in storage, with more batteries stored in other areas.

Lithium batteries burn hot and fast, and are difficult to control with conventional fire extinguishing methods.

“Due to fears of additional explosions, it was difficult to enter,” Kim said, describing the tricky rescue operation.

“As it is a lithium battery manufacturer, we (had) determined that spraying water will not extinguish the fire, so we (used) dry sand,” he added.

The lithium battery plant is owned by Aricell, a South Korean primary battery manufacturer. It is located in Hwaseong city, just south of the capital Seoul.

Shares of Aricell’s parent company, S-connect, plunged by over 20 percent on the Seoul exchange by close Monday. S-connect owns 96 percent of Aricell.

Lithium batteries are used in everything from laptops to electric vehicles — but can be highly explosive, with airlines, for example, imposing strict regulations on checking devices containing them.

‘Mobilise all personnel’

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol issued emergency instructions to authorities, telling them to “mobilise all available personnel and equipment to focus on searching for and rescuing people,” his office said.

The president also warned authorities that they should “ensure the safety of firefighters considering the rapid spread of fire”.

Authorities in Hwaseong sent out a series of alerts to residents warning them to stay inside.

“There is a lot of smoke due to factory fires. Please pay attention to safety, such as refraining from going out,” one alert sent by text message said.

“Factory fire. Please detour to surrounding roads and nearby citizens please close windows,” another one read.

South Korea is a major producer of batteries, including those used in electric vehicles.

Its battery makers supply EV makers around the world, including Tesla.

The fire is one of South Korea’s worst factory disasters in years.

Previously, it’s worst chemical plant accident was in 1989 at the Lucky Chemical factory in Yeosu, Southern Jeolla Province, which resulted in 16 deaths and 17 injuries.

A fire at a warehouse in Icheon in 2020 killed 38 people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)