Thousands of rival South Korean protesters rallied in the capital yesterday, a day after a failed attempt to arrest suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for imposing a short-lived martial law decree that led to his impeachment.
The country has been plunged into political chaos since last month, with Yoon defiantly holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by hundreds of loyal security officers who have so far resisted efforts by prosecutors to arrest him.
Thousands of protesters, both for and against Yoon, gathered in front of the residence and along major roads in Seoul yesterday — either demanding his arrest or calling for his impeachment to be declared invalid.
Photo: AFP
Supporter Kim Chul-hong, 60, said Yoon’s arrest could undermine South Korea’s security alliance with the US and Japan.
“Protecting President Yoon means safeguarding our country’s security against threats from North Korea,” he said.
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, South Korea’s largest umbrella union, attempted to march to Yoon’s residence to protest against him, but were blocked by police. It said two of its members were arrested, and several others were injured in clashes.
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.
Investigators have asked South Korean Minister of Finance Choi Sang-mok, who was installed as acting president a week ago, to back the warrant by ordering the presidential security service to cooperate.
In scenes of high drama on Friday, Yoon’s guards and military troops shielded him from investigators who eventually called off the arrest attempt, citing safety concerns.
The showdown — which reportedly included shoving, but no shots fired — left the warrant in limbo, with the court order set to expire tomorrow.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials could make another bid to arrest him before then.
However, if the warrant lapses, they may apply for another.
The South Korean Constitutional Court slated Jan. 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which if he does not attend would continue in his absence.
Former South Korean presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.
Yoon’s lawyers decried Friday’s arrest attempt as “unlawful and invalid,” and vowed to take legal action.
Experts said investigators could wait for greater legal justification before attempting to arrest the suspended president again.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS