South Korean President Skips Summons Amid Political Crisis, Faces Arrest Risk
South Korea’s Constitutional Court began reviewing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment on Saturday, following a National Assembly vote that led to it. Yoon was scheduled for questioning on Sunday as part of a prosecutors’ office investigation, but he has not responded. Meanwhile, the leader of his party, who had supported the impeachment, has resigned.
NBC News reports the prosecutors’ office asked Yoon to appear for questioning on Sunday as part of an investigation over his failed attempt to declare emergency martial law earlier this month. Prosecutors will issue another summons for the president.
On Saturday, the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon, with 204 lawmakers in the 300-member house in favor of the motion and 85 against. Eight votes were declared invalid, while three lawmakers abstained from voting.
The vote comes a little more than a week after Yoon survived an impeachment vote, capping multi-week political turmoil in the country that borders North Korea. This follows Yoon’s declaration of the briefest martial law in South Korean history on December 3, lasting only a few hours, after accusing the opposition party of engaging in ‘anti-state activities.’
Recall, Yoon said: “I will not give up. I will do my best for our country.” And this could be why he failed to appear for questioning on Sunday.
“If Yoon continues to defy requests for questioning in the two inquiries, investigators could ask a court to issue a warrant for his arrest,” NBC noted.
Under South Korea’s Constitution, Yoon’s impeachment has allowed Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to become interim leader.
Political instability in South Korea led to the resignation of Han Dong Hoon, the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party, on Monday morning.
Han said he does “not regret supporting the impeachment” because the president’s use of martial law was wrong.
“Defending illegal martial law is a betrayal of the country, the people, the conservative spirit, and the achievements of our party that achieved industrialization and democratization,” Han emphasized.
Given that the Constitutional Court will now decide whether to reinstate or remove Yoon, Goldman’s Goohoon Kwon and Andrew Tilton provided clients with the possible transition scenarios. That process could take up to six months.
Here’s what comes next:
Newsquawk’s latest headlines on the ongoing political turmoil:
South Korean MPs have successfully voted to impeach President Yoon in their second attempt, amid backlash following his brief move to impose martial law, according to BBC. Yoon was suspended from official duties at 19:24 local time on Saturday while PM Han is to continue as acting president, according to Yonhap.
South Korea’s acting president Han vowed to leave no vacuum in state affairs, build a solid security posture, and ensure the cabinet works hard to maintain trust with the US, Japan, and other partners. He also pledged efforts to operate financial and forex markets smoothly, according to Yonhap. Acting President Han said the country will maintain preparedness to prevent North Korea from stirring up provocations, secure national interests ahead of the new US administration, and prioritise national security above all else, according to News1 and Yonhap.
South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said the party has decided not to proceed with the impeachment of acting , according to Reuters.
Bank of Korea stated it is necessary to respond more actively to the economic impact compared with past impeachment periods, given heightened challenges in external conditions. It also said it will use all available policy instruments, in conjunction with the government, to respond to and avert escalation of volatility in financial and forex markets, according to Reuters.
South Korea’s Finance Minister said the government will continue to swiftly deploy market-stabilising measures as needed, seek more support measures for vulnerable sectors, and actively communicate with parliament to keep the economy stable. The minister also confirmed that the bi-annual economic policy plan will be announced before the end of the year, according to Reuters.
South Korea’s financial regulator said it will expand market-stabilising funds if needed to boost liquidity in bond and short-term money markets and expects financial markets to stabilise as recent political events are temporary shocks, according to Reuters.
Also, the Goldman analysts warned of another scenario that could unfold: “… muddling through in a political gridlock.”
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, said Monday that rebel factions in the war-torn country would be disbanded and their fighters would join regular army units. “The factions will be disbanded and the fighters trained to join the ranks of the defence ministry, and all […]
Washington Township, NJ Mayor Matthew Murello said Monday on “Good Morning America” that something “bizarre” was happening with the reported increase in drone sightings on the East Coast.
He is a lightning rod, and while he inspires an unmatched hatred in those who prefer a status quo of authoritarianism, he also inspires truly courageous actions on the part of normal people.
There finally is pushback against Critical Race Theory that has infected higher education and most of our other institutions. Unfortunately, CRT concepts are so embedded in our body politic that the only way to combat them is through revisionist history.
Primary school students will learn weapons safety and how to handle weapons while secondary school students will learn how to shoot and shooting safety.
S&P Futures are higher this morning as markets start to turn their attention to monetary policy. In the week ahead the FOMC, BOE, BOJ will be making monetary policy announcements. NASDAQ is adding PLTR, MSTR & AXON to the Nasdaq 100 index next week. Earnings reports are due out this week from MU, LEN, GIS, BIRK, CAG, DRI, CTAS, FDX & NKE. Congress must pass a continuing resolution by Dec 20th to avoid a partial government shutdown. In Europe stocks trading lower due to political instability concerns. Oil prices are ticking lower as China’s economic data came in mixed.
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The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, provided an update Sunday on a rash of apparent drone sightings in the New Jersey region, saying the federal government will take action to address concerns but signaled that officials don’t have the authority to shoot them down.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing on the department’s budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 18, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Over the past several weeks, residents and local officials have reported drones flying over New Jersey, drawing intense speculation and scrutiny in the past week. Some federal lawmakers have called on the drones to be shot down or captured, while federal officials have not disclosed the source of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
“There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” Mayorkas told ABC News’ “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday morning. “I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings.”
Mayorkas added that the sightings are “in fact” of drones, but some are “manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones,” echoing previous statements made by the FBI, DHS, and the White House. He did not provide further details.
“But there’s no question that drones are being sighted,” the secretary said, adding that there are “thousands” of drones that are flown every day in the United States, including commercial and recreational vehicles. He also pointed out that in September 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration changed federal rules that allow drones to fly in the evening.
“I want to assure the American public that we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities,” Mayorkas said. “And it is critical, as we all have said for a number of years that we need from Congress additional authorities to address the drone situation. Our authorities currently are limited, and they are set to expire. We need them extended and expanded.”
Elaborating, he called on Congress to allow state and local officials to have broader latitude in dealing with drones “under federal supervision.”
When asked by Stephanopoulos about whether the drones should be shot down, as suggested by President-elect Donald Trump in a social media post over the weekend, Mayorkas signaled that the U.S. government has limited capacity in that regard.
Several local New Jersey elected officials, including Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), said in a Saturday news conference that that government should take down the drones and have them inspected by federal officials. “Why can’t we bag at least one drone and get to the bottom of this?” Smith asked.
Mayorkas said Sunday that the U.S. government is “limited in our authorities” in taking down a drone, noting that there are more than 8,000 drones being flown each day across the country.
“We have certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security that can do that, and outside our department,” he added, “but we need those authorities expanded as well.”
The Homeland Security secretary then stressed that U.S. officials have not seen evidence that the drones are being operated by a foreign adversary, echoing statements made by the White House and FBI. He also suggested that the drones have not been flown over any sensitive or restricted areas.
“When a drone is flown over restricted air space, we act very, very swiftly,” said Mayorkas, who is due to leave office on Jan. 20, 2025. “And, in fact, when an individual in California flew a drone over restricted air space, that individual was identified, apprehended, and is being charged by federal authorities. And so we act as swiftly as possible when an individual does fly a drone over restricted air space and violates the rules.”
He was making reference to an incident earlier this month in which a Chinese national living in the United States was flying a drone near Vandenburg Air Force Base in Southern California.
The suspect, Yinpiao Zhou, was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport right before he was set to board a flight back to China on Dec. 9, officials have said.
