Yoon Suk Yeol News

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was reinstated on Monday as South Korea's acting president, is a technocrat whose experience and reputation as a safe pair of hands transcended party lines and helped him serve in senior posts under five presidents. Known as a seasoned economic, trade and foreign affairs specialist, Han, 75, was serving the second stint as the head of cabinet, when he became acting president on December 14 after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by parliament for leading a short-lived martial law. Two weeks later, Han himself was impeached after being accused of aiding Yoon in the martial law declaration and his powers suspended. He denied this but accepted some responsibility for the ensuing crisis by failing to dissuade Yoon from making the surprise move. On Monday, the Constitutional Court overturned his impeachment, restoring his powers to serve as leader while the country awaits the same court's ruling on Yoon's impeachment. In a country sharply divided by partisan rhetoric, Han has been a rare example of an official who has sought to stay out of the political fray.

Such units are among the thousands of troops that South Korea's spy agency says Pyongyang has deployed to Russia to support Moscow's war against Ukraine. During the visit to a special operations unit on Friday, Kim said the «actual war capability for guaranteeing victory in the war field is bolstered up through intensive training,» the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He added that their training is «the most vivid expression of patriotism and loyalty to the country,» according to the agency. Images released by state media showed Kim peering through the scope of a sniper rifle that KCNA said was going to be «newly supplied to special operation units».

President Yoon Suk Yeol, upholding parliament's impeachment motion over his short-lived imposition of martial law last year that sparked the country's worst political crisis in decades. With Yoon's ouster, a presidential election is required to take place within 60 days, according to the country's constitution. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will continue to serve as acting president until the new president is inaugurated. The ruling caps months of political turmoil that have overshadowed efforts to deal with the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump at a time of slowing growth. Separately, 64-year-old Yoon faces a criminal trial on insurrection charges. The embattled leader became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested on January 15 but was released in March after a court cancelled his arrest warrant.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designated South Korea as a 'sensitive' country. The U.S. department has not explained why South Korea was added to the list, which can cause curbs on cooperation, though a DOE spokesperson said Seoul faced no new limits on bilateral cooperation in science and technology from the designation. In a statement relayed by the finance ministry after a ministerial meeting, Choi called on South Korean agencies to actively foster understanding with Washington, and for the industry minister to meet with the U.S. Secretary of Energy this week. Despite the DOE assurances over bilateral cooperation not being impacted, politicians in Seoul have traded blame over the sensitive country designation. The main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday criticised the current South Korean government, calling the U.S. move a «perfect diplomatic failure» which is feared could limit cooperation between the countries in the high-tech field.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SEOUL: South Korean authorities arrested and detained for questioning the country's impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, deepening the fallout from his short-lived declaration of martial law last month. Never before has a South Korean sitting president been arrested.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SEOUL—South Korean investigators failed to arrest the country’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, thwarted by his armed Secret Service bodyguards in another tense showdown resulting from his short-lived martial-law decree last month. Yoon, who is being investigated for insurrection among other charges, has refused three summonses to appear for questioning.

South Korean officials plan to conduct safety inspections of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines, as they struggle to determine what caused a weekend plane crash that killed 179 people

FUNDAMENTALS

South Korea's leadership crisis will play out in the Constitutional Court, which will decide the fate of President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, both impeached and suspended from power over a short-lived martial law.

Han Duck-soo, who was impeached on Friday as South Korea's acting president, is a career technocrat whose wide-ranging experience and reputation for rationality failed to shield him from growing political turmoil.

Shares are mixed in Asia after the Nasdaq set a record ahead of a meeting by the Federal Reserve later this week that could set the direction for markets in the new year

South Korea's parliament on Saturday voted to impeach embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree this month, a shocking stunt that paralyzed the country's politics, halted foreign policy and spooked financial markets. His suspension from power comes almost eight years after the impeachment of Seoul's last conservative leader, Park Geun-hye, formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in March 2017. Yoon, a former public prosecutor, was part of the investigation team that examined Park's charges of bribery, abuse of power and other crimes that the court concluded warranted her removal from office.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SEOUL—South Korea’s legislature impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his decision to briefly institute martial law, kick-starting a monthslong process to potentially select a new leader following one of the nation’s most tumultuous chapters in recent years. Needing a two-thirds majority, lawmakers voted 204 to 85 to impeach Yoon, who will immediately be stripped of his presidential powers.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with officials in Japan to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington's commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SEOUL—South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung credits a coup and stretch of military rule more than 40 years ago—during which soldiers opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the southwestern city of Gwangju, killing many—with propelling him into politics. Now, a short-lived attempt by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last week to impose martial law has thrust Lee to within striking distance of his nation’s top job, as Yoon faces impeachment efforts and members of his cabinet are under criminal investigation.

Shares are mostly lower in Asia, with South Korea's benchmark down 2.3%, after U.S. stocks rose to records on Friday

Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on Tuesday, Yonhap News Agency said. Yoon survived an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, prompted by his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, but the leader of his own party said he will be effectively excluded from his duties before eventually stepping down. Ruling Party leader Han Dong-hoon plans to meet with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday morning.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, citing threats from North Korea and accusing the National Assembly of obstructing government functions. This marked the first such declaration since 1980. Though rescinded within six hours, the move shocked the nation and drew widespread condemnation, both domestically and internationally. The streets surrounding the National Assembly in Seoul became the epicentre of dissent, with an estimated 150,000 protesters demanding Yoon’s impeachment. Banners with messages like «Impeach Yoon» and «Insurrection Criminal» were held high, while chants of «South Korea is a democratic republic» reverberated through the crowd. The protests, which included families with young children and groups singing protest songs, carried a festival-like atmosphere but turned sombre as parliament debated Yoon’s political fate. Protester Jo Ah-gyeong, a 30-year-old Seoul resident, expressed resolve: “I’m neither discouraged nor disappointed because we’ll get it eventually. I’ll keep coming here until we do.”

Shin Jae-hyung was a teenager, he was out in the streets being teargassed, fighting against South Korea's then-military dictator Park Chung-hee. He never thought he would have to do it again in 2024. But when he heard the country's current president, Yoon Suk Yeol, had declared martial law this week — the first time democratic South Korea had experienced it in 40 years — he raced to the National Assembly thinking: «We must stop this.» «I thought we must define this as an act of insurrection,» the 66-year-old told AFP at his home in northern Seoul.

Global shares have advanced, taking their cues from another Wall Street record rally, while bitcoin edged away from its record high