The South Korean government said yesterday it would crack down on political unrest as financial markets brushed off fears of instability to bounce back on the first working day following the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
Candlelight protests that drew tens of thousands of people to the streets of Seoul for the past two nights were outlawed as interim leader, Prime Minister Goh Kun, pledged to restore stability to the economy, guarantee security and oversee the run-up to crucial April 15 general elections.
PHOTO: AP
Any political unrest would be harshly dealt with, the government warned.
"Any moves or rallies that cause social disorder will be strictly dealt with in accordance with laws and principle," a government statement said.
Earlier, police outlawed candlelight rallies that drew some 100,000 people to the streets of Seoul over the weekend.
"Evening candlelight rallies in the street are illegal," said senior police superintendent Kim Ok-jeon, in charge of security in Seoul.
"According to the law, we will use force to disperse rallies if participants pay no heed to repeated warnings to disperse," Kim said.
Goh, 66, said he would ensure government neutrality in the run-up to next month's election.
"With just 30 days to go before the elections, we face a difficult political situation," Goh said following a Cabinet meeting. "The government must maintain its neutrality for fair elections."
Roh's impeachment polarized politics and inflamed passions here and protesters said they planned daily demonstrations in the run-up to next month's vote.
North Korea condemned the National Assembly vote to unseat Roh and pulled out of inter-Korean economic talks scheduled to start yesterday in South Korea after demanding a change of venue, citing political unrest sparked by the
impeachment.
The South's Unification Ministry accused the North of seeking to exploit its problems and has expressed regret in a letter sent to Pyongyang.
North Korea termed the impeachment a political rebellion against the wishes of tens of millions of South Korean people and said the US was behind the move.
Goh has already put South Korea's 700,000-strong military on heightened alert to counter Pyong-yang, engaged in a 13-month nuclear standoff which is considered a major threat to world peace.
Washington has declined to comment on the impeachment saga, saying the matter was South Korea's internal affair.
Finance Minister Lee Hun-jae has attempted to reassure the markets and international investors that political instability will not trouble the tentative economic recovery in Asia's fourth largest economy.
The two main opposition parties, the Grand National Party and the Millennium Democratic Party, joined forces to impeach Roh last Friday after he was reprimanded by a government watchdog for illegal electioneering before general elections scheduled for April 15.
More than 70 percent of South Koreans opposed impeachment, according to opinion polls.
Roh was suspended from office following the vote and Goh took over as interim president. The case is under review by the Constitutional Court which will rule within 180 days whether to uphold the vote or restore Roh to power.
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
RSS