68 h. ago South Koreans deserve Nobel Peace Prize for stopping martial law, president says

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday praised the citizens who confronted martial law troops a year ago, saying their collective defence of democracy made them worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the attempt by impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol to impose military rule, Lee described the incident as an unprecedented test of South Korea’s democracy that the public overcame peacefully. “I am convinced that we, the people of the...

Politics

3 d. ago South Korean lawmakers push for special court as distrust of judiciary grows

A year after former president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing ahead with a bill to create a separate court dedicated to handling cases linked to the decree, in response to widespread public distrust of what critics describe as a “biased” judiciary. President Lee Jae-myung warned on social media ahead of the December 3 anniversary of the decree: “If we leave hidden acts of insurrection as they are, insurrection will certainly...

Events

3 d. ago South Korea proposes special court to address ‘mockery of judicial process’

A year after former president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing ahead with a bill to create a separate court dedicated to handling cases linked to the decree, in response to widespread public distrust of what critics describe as a “biased” judiciary. President Lee Jae-myung warned on social media ahead of the December 3 anniversary of the decree: “If we leave hidden acts of insurrection as they are, insurrection will certainly...

Events

3 d. ago A year on from South Korea’s martial law crisis, some lives are changed forever

When South Korea’s leader declared martial law a year ago, one young woman blocked a tank, a civil servant resigned in protest and a lawmaker switched sides to remove him from office. They are among the many South Koreans whose lives were transformed on December 3, 2024. That wintry night, then president Yoon Suk-yeol interrupted national television broadcasts to suspend civilian rule for the first time in more than four decades. Soldiers and tanks deployed in central Seoul. Troops landed by...

Society

9 d. ago Was South Korea’s former first lady the catalyst for martial law?

A mounting series of corruption and influence-peddling allegations against South Korea’s former first lady, Kim Keon-hee, is fuelling accusations that an unelected figure exerted unlawful control over state affairs. Investigators and analysts alike now question whether Kim leveraged her proximity to the presidency to meddle in personnel appointments and criminal investigations – including one targeting herself – and may even have influenced her husband Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated martial law...

Politics

9 d. ago South Korea kicks back after Canada’s TSN labels taekwondo clip ‘ninja training’

South Koreans have slammed a major Canadian sports broadcaster for “ignorance” after it labelled a clip featuring high-flying taekwondo martial artists as “ninja training”. Taekwondo is South Korea’s most famous martial art, while ninjas – the black-clad spies and assassins of Japan’s feudal era – are known for secrecy and stealth. The controversy erupted after TSN, which bills itself as Canada’s sports leader, shared a clip of taekwondo practitioners performing acrobatic jump kick routines on...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Wipe them out’: Yoon’s dictatorial mindset evident before martial law attempt

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol may have begun laying the ideological groundwork for a self-coup long before his failed attempt to impose martial law last December, according to newly disclosed legal documents. Political analysts say the revelations suggest Yoon’s push for emergency rule was not a sudden response to security tensions, but part of a long-standing pattern of authoritarian inclinations dating back to his early political career and even his years as a...

Politics

3 w. ago Martial law fallout spreads to South Korea’s spy service as ex

Yoon Suk-yeol’s former spy chief was arrested on Wednesday on charges of concealing evidence, intensifying the fallout from the ex-president’s failed martial law decree. Cho Tae-yong, who led South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) until Yoon’s impeachment and removal from office earlier this year, was taken into custody after the Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant citing the risk of evidence destruction. His arrest marks a major milestone in prosecutors’ efforts to hold...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Prolong his power’: South Korea’s Yoon accused of using spy agency in coup

Yoon Suk-yeol’s former spy chief was arrested on Wednesday on charges of concealing evidence, intensifying the fallout from the ex-president’s failed martial law decree. Cho Tae-yong, who led South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) until Yoon’s impeachment and removal from office earlier this year, was taken into custody after the Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant citing the risk of evidence destruction. His arrest marks a major milestone in prosecutors’ efforts to hold...

Politics

3 w. ago South Korea’s Yoon accused of goading North into conflict to justify martial law

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol, removed from office and arrested earlier this year for attempting to impose martial law, is facing new charges alleging he sought to provoke North Korea to justify his failed power grab. Prosecutors say Yoon and senior aides orchestrated risky military operations near the border to draw a retaliation from Pyongyang, which they hoped would legitimise the emergency decree Yoon signed on December 3 while still in office. Those operations allegedly...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Create instability’: Yoon accused of provoking North Korea to justify coup

South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol, removed from office and arrested earlier this year for attempting to impose martial law, is facing new charges alleging he sought to provoke North Korea to justify his failed power grab. Prosecutors say Yoon and senior aides orchestrated risky military operations near the border to draw a retaliation from Pyongyang, which they hoped would legitimise the emergency decree Yoon signed on December 3 while still in office. Those operations allegedly...

Politics