The Koreas

During this sensitive time of Seoul’s political turmoil, Blinken’s much-awaited visit to South Korea is the last gift that the Biden administration wants to offer its ally. 

South Korea must prioritize constitutional integrity over partisan gains to ensure that democratic ideals do not devolve into enduring political instability.

Despite an arrest warrant issued by the court, the presidential security service blocked the CIO from detaining South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

For the first time in South Korea’s history, an arrest warrant requested by the investigation agency against the president has been issued.

On December 29, a Jeju Air plane skidded off the runway at the Muan International Airport after failing to deploy landing gear. Just 2 survived the fiery crash.

A day after Han Duck-soo vowed not to appoint three judges for the Constitutional Court, the main opposition party impeached the acting president.

It’s not just Yoon whose political career hangs in the balance; opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is grappling with numerous legal woes of his own.

Despite his vow not to avoid legal and political responsibility, President Yoon has repeatedly refused to receive documents from the Constitutional Court that are related to his impeachment trial.

The central role of Yoon's defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, in the recent martial law declaration highlights concerns about military influence in South Korean politics.

Reversing his decision to defer to the ruling party, Yoon implied that the main opposition Democratic Party was the “anti-state forces” he referred to in his declaration of martial law.

Already, concerned investors are withdrawing from South Korea’s stock markets. Prolonged instability will exacerbate the economic damage.