Martial law declared in South Korea.

[tim]

If he has any sense he should just quit, he has no credibility whatsoever after this. Wonder if he will do a Boris and just try and cling on as everyone deserts him.

He should catch the next train heading North.

 

[Cid]

He should catch the next train heading North.

Probably the next boat east in this instance.

 

[TopCat]

He should catch the next train heading North.

A fitting end just after arrival.

 

[The39thStep]

The US has recognised Juan Guaidó as interim President of South Korea.

 

[NoXion]

So let me see if I understand this situation right.

The President of the Republic of Korea declared marital[sic] law last night, seemingly on account of his wife (or was it his sister? His sister-wife?) being due to get into legal trouble for being a dodgy corrupt nepo baby or something. Snouts in the trough, some depressingly typical political shit.

Only nobody else was having it. His party disowned the move, the parliament rejected it, and the military just barely went through the motions of it. So the declaration had all the force of a wet fart, but none of the stickiness.

So not only has this dude displayed an absolute contempt for democracy by attempting to circumvent it as a means to stop his nearest and dearest meeting some vague semblance of justice, but he also flopped it so quickly that most of his own countryfolk were able to finish sleeping before it was all over bar the shouting. It's now that I wonder if people in such positions are capable of dying out of sheer embarrassment.

He surely can't be President for much longer. What an absolute pillock.

 

[The39thStep]

So let me see if I understand this situation right.

The President of the Republic of Korea declared marital[sic] law last night, seemingly on account of his wife (or was it his sister? His sister-wife?) being due to get into legal trouble for being a dodgy corrupt nepo baby or something. Snouts in the trough, some depressingly typical political shit.

Only nobody else was having it. His party disowned the move, the parliament rejected it, and the military just barely went through the motions of it. So the declaration had all the force of a wet fart, but none of the stickiness.

So not only has this dude displayed an absolute contempt for democracy by attempting to circumvent it as a means to stop his nearest and dearest meeting some vague semblance of justice, but he also flopped it so quickly that most of his own countryfolk were able to finish sleeping before it was all over bar the shouting. It's now that I wonder if people in such positions are capable of dying out of sheer embarrassment.

He surely can't be President for much longer. What an absolute pillock.

Yup that's about it, the dude did just not abide

 

[krtek a houby]

Was impressed with the people demonstrating, especially the youth. Japan could learn a thing or two.

 

[Kaka Tim]

Seoul Based step-daughter in law and husband did indeed sleep through the whole thing. Unsuprsingly their hot take on the whole situation was "WTAF!!"

 

[cupid_stunt]

So let me see if I understand this situation right.

The President of the Republic of Korea declared marital[sic] law last night, seemingly on account of his wife (or was it his sister? His sister-wife?) being due to get into legal trouble for being a dodgy corrupt nepo baby or something. Snouts in the trough, some depressingly typical political shit.

Only nobody else was having it. His party disowned the move, the parliament rejected it, and the military just barely went through the motions of it. So the declaration had all the force of a wet fart, but none of the stickiness.

 

[JimW]

What if they called a coup but nobody came?

 

[Skinny Ethel]

Pigeons must be furious

 

[MickiQ]

So let me see if I understand this situation right.

The President of the Republic of Korea declared marital[sic] law last night, seemingly on account of his wife (or was it his sister? His sister-wife?) being due to get into legal trouble for being a dodgy corrupt nepo baby or something. Snouts in the trough, some depressingly typical political shit.

Only nobody else was having it. His party disowned the move, the parliament rejected it, and the military just barely went through the motions of it. So the declaration had all the force of a wet fart, but none of the stickiness.

So not only has this dude displayed an absolute contempt for democracy by attempting to circumvent it as a means to stop his nearest and dearest meeting some vague semblance of justice, but he also flopped it so quickly that most of his own countryfolk were able to finish sleeping before it was all over bar the shouting. It's now that I wonder if people in such positions are capable of dying out of sheer embarrassment.

He surely can't be President for much longer. What an absolute pillock.

I think there was also something about the Govt passing bills he didn't like whilst not passing ones he did and him throwing an almighty strop about it but yeah I think you've got the gist of it,

 

[Orang Utan]

What if they called a coup but nobody came?

I’ve heard of a bloodless coup d’état, but not a coup sans coup

 

[Kaka Tim]

coup d'twat

 

[likesfish]

Hopefully kebabking will tip us off when it's our turn

Two minibuses with a few resentful squaddies listening to their CO who has obviously lost until the community mental health team turn up

 

[elbows]

Was impressed with the people demonstrating, especially the youth. Japan could learn a thing or two.

Student protests have been a major part of the political situation in South Korea pretty much all the way along. Several autocratic regimes fell over the decades as a result, but there were also numerous crackdowns that featured bloody repression of students and other citizens.

 

[elbows]

South Korea politics is crazy.

Of the 9 elected Presidents they had:

Roh Tae-woo: Convicted in August 1996 for treason, mutiny, and corruption

Kim Young-sam: Arrested two former Presidents and gave one a death sentence and the other 22 years

Kim Dae-jung: Pardoned the two former Presidents (who had previously sentenced him to death)

Roh Moo-hyun: Suspected of bribery by prosecutors, and the subsequent investigations led to him Roh committing suicide on 23 May 2009 when he jumped from a mountain cliff behind his home.

Lee Myung-bak: On 22 March 2018, Lee was arrested on charges of bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion alleged to have occurred during his presidency. Lee was convicted on 5 October 2018 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Park Geun-hye: On 17 April 2017, Park was formally charged with abuse of power, bribery, coercion and leaking government secrets. On 6 April 2018, a three-judge panel of the Central District Court in Seoul sentenced Park to 24 years in prison and a fine of ₩18 billion ($16,798,683), finding her guilty of 16 out of 18 charges brought before her.

Moon Jae-in: Nothing too dramatic

Yoon Suk Yeol: Declared martial law for no reason, probably going to end up in prison like most of his predecessors.

The one who jumped off a mountain seems to be considered the least corrupt from that list, at least according to how his reputation evolved after death.

I assume the scene there is a mix of very real, massive corruption, and accusations of corruption being used to settle political scores later on.

Chuck in the Chaebol system, which is actually where a lot of the 'dystopian sci-fi future corporate scary shit' fiction comes from, authors borrowed from the realities of South Korea and some other countries.

Then add the usual post-ww2 cold war proxy crap and what the Soviet and US occupation zones turned into as the years went by after the wars end, capitalist 'economic miracles' and brutal regimes, most obviously that of Park Chung Hee although he was far from the only one, and the history isnt fun to read. Progress since the late 1980s when things, at least on the surface, became more overtly democratic, has been a mixed bag.

 

[teqniq]

So let me see if I understand this situation right.

The President of the Republic of Korea declared marital[sic] law last night, seemingly on account of his wife (or was it his sister? His sister-wife?) being due to get into legal trouble for being a dodgy corrupt nepo baby or something. Snouts in the trough, some depressingly typical political shit.

Only nobody else was having it. His party disowned the move, the parliament rejected it, and the military just barely went through the motions of it. So the declaration had all the force of a wet fart, but none of the stickiness.

So not only has this dude displayed an absolute contempt for democracy by attempting to circumvent it as a means to stop his nearest and dearest meeting some vague semblance of justice, but he also flopped it so quickly that most of his own countryfolk were able to finish sleeping before it was all over bar the shouting. It's now that I wonder if people in such positions are capable of dying out of sheer embarrassment.

He surely can't be President for much longer. What an absolute pillock.

You have saved me from trawling through most of the preceding pages (i started on page 1 and jumped to here fairly quickly). Great explanation. Thank you.

 

[Cerv]

for a local perspective

Martial law came to South Korea – and my friends and I doomscrolled through the night

Since the separation of the Koreas in 1953, our elders have experienced the suspension of normal civil rights many times. But for the younger generation, this was a horrifying and instructive first

www.theguardian.com

 

[likesfish]

North Korea was set up by the Russian Army that didn't even have a vague idea of how you run a country

 

[krtek a houby]

How do you run a country?

 

[Kaka Tim]

How do you run a country?

I think it's like running a whelk stall, but scaled up.

 

[yield]

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law, as most ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers.

 

[gosub]

I think it's like running a whelk stall, but scaled up.

conches?

 

[moochedit]

Kim Jong-Un should condemn it just for the comedy value.

Took his time but here you go ....

North Korea decries ‘dictatorship’ in South in wake of martial law attempt

State media in neighbouring country that has been ruled by a dictatorial dynasty since 1948 breaks silence to criticise President Yoon’s ‘gangster nation’

www.theguardian.com

 

[Elpenor]

Took his time but here you go ....

North Korea decries ‘dictatorship’ in South in wake of martial law attempt

State media in neighbouring country that has been ruled by a dictatorial dynasty since 1948 breaks silence to criticise President Yoon’s ‘gangster nation’

www.theguardian.com

This part isn’t dissimilar from the Uk and US, amongst other states, content to sit at the nuclear table while their own people suffer

With the exception of the political elite in Pyongyang, average North Koreans live in poverty and suffer from malnutrition, while Kim spends huge sums on developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

Edit - see article today

Food insecurity rising in UK because of climate breakdown, Defra report finds

Access to balanced diet also affected by inflation and Brexit, hitting most vulnerable households hardest

www.theguardian.com

 

[ska invita]

.

 

[cupid_stunt]

The second attempt at impeachment has been passed.

The president later apologised and survived a first impeachment vote after members of his People Power Party (PPP) boycotted it.

However, ahead of today's vote seven PPP members said publicly that they intended to back impeachment, with party leader Han Dong-hoon urging them to do so.

The country's opposition parties needed two-thirds of the National Assembly to back the motion today, meaning at least 200 MPs.

The assembly passed the second impeachment motion in a 204-85 vote.

South Korea's parliament votes to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over attempt to impose martial law

South Korea's parliament has voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law earlier this month.

news.sky.com

 

[planetgeli]

The second attempt at impeachment has been passed.

But only just and it now has to go through some constitutional court which can take 6 months.

This isn't over by a long stretch.

 

[yield]

South Korea votes to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo
BBC News. 27 December 2024,

South Korea has voted to impeach its acting president Han Duck-soo, two weeks after parliament voted to impeach its President Yoon Suk Yeol.

A total of 192 lawmakers voted for his impeachment, more than the 151 votes needed for it to succeed.

Prime minister Han took over the role after President Yoon was impeached by parliament following his failed attempt to impose martial law on 3 December.

Han was supposed to lead the country out of its political turmoil, but opposition MPs argued that he was refusing demands to complete Yoon's impeachment process.
Dramatic scenes in parliament

Chaos erupted in parliament as the vote was held on Friday.

Lawmakers from Yoon and Han's ruling People Power Party (PPP) protested after National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik announced that only 151 votes would be needed to pass the impeachment bill.

This meant that, unlike the 200 votes required for Yoon's impeachment, no votes from ruling lawmakers would be needed this time for Han to be impeached in parliament.

Ruling party MPs gathered in the middle of the voting chamber chanting, "invalid!" and "abuse of power!" in response, and called for the Speaker to step down. Most of them boycotted the vote.

Unlikely political ‘Thor’ emerges from South Korea’s martial law crisis
27 Dec 2024. aljazeera
Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik’s adherence to constitutional procedure was key in overturning the president’s martial law decree and making troops stand down.

As a young student activist, Woo was imprisoned for three years after protesting against the military dictatorship that expanded martial law in 1980, following the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979.

The crackdown culminated in the deadly Gwangju Uprising of May 1980.

After President Yoon declared martial law on the night of December 3, the 67-year-old Woo scaled the National Assembly fence after police barricaded the entrance to try and prevent lawmakers from entering and holding a vote to overturn the president’s order.

“I knew we had the constitutional authority to lift martial law,” Woo recalled later in a news conference.

“I didn’t hesitate. I had to get inside the assembly, no matter what,” he said.