South Korean president indicted as 'ringleader of an insurrection'
South Korean prosecutors indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol Sunday for being the "ringleader of an insurrection" after his abortive declaration of martial law, ordering the suspended leader to remain in detention.
Yoon plunged the country into political chaos with his December 3 bid to suspend civilian rule, a move which lasted just six hours before lawmakers defied armed soldiers in parliament to vote it down.
He was impeached soon after, and earlier this month became the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested.
That came after a weekslong holdout at his residence, where his elite personal security detail resisted attempts to detain him.
In a statement, prosecutors said they had "indicted Yoon Suk Yeol with detention today on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection."
He has been held at the Seoul Detention Center since his arrest, and the formal indictment with detention means he will now be kept behind bars until his trial, which must happen within six months.
The indictment was widely expected after a court twice rejected requests by prosecutors to extend his arrest warrant while their investigation proceeded.
"After a comprehensive review of evidence obtained during investigations [prosecutors] concluded that it was only appropriate to indict the defendant," they said in a statement.
The need to keep Yoon behind bars was justified by a "continued risk of evidence destruction," they said.
The specific charge — being the ringleader of an insurrection — is not covered by presidential immunity, they added.
'Process of accountability'
The opposition hailed the indictment.
"We need to hold not only those who schemed to carry out an illegal insurrection, but also those who instigated it by spreading misinformation," said lawmaker Han Min-soo.
Without providing evidence, Yoon and his legal team have pointed to purported election fraud and legislative gridlock at the opposition-controlled parliament as justification for his declaration of martial law.
Yoon has vowed to "fight to the end", earning the support of supporters who have adopted the "stop the steal" rhetoric associated with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"This indictment will provide a sense of relief, reaffirming that the constitutional order is functioning as it should," said Bae Kang-hoon, co-founder of political think tank Valid.
Yoon also faces a series of Constitutional Court hearings, to decide whether to uphold his impeachment and strip him formally of the presidency.
If the court rules against Yoon, he will lose the presidency and an election will be called within 60 days.
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Voice of America
13-03-2025
- Voice of America
VOA Asia Weekly: Across Pacific, New-Found Freedoms Face Legal, Economic Obstacles
Show more Show less The significant legal and economic obstacles standing in the way of press freedom for journalists in the Pacific Islands. Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story is just ahead, but first, making headlines: Families of drug war victims in the Philippines attended a burial ceremony after the International Criminal Court arrested former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on charges related to his deadly anti-drug crackdown that killed thousands. They say his arrest helps them heal. 'The justice that we want for those who have died is slowly moving forward.' Duterte says he was "responsible" and pledged to protect police and the military, as he arrived in the Netherlands to face the International Criminal Court case. He made the statement in a video posted on a close advisor's social media account Wednesday. Police arrested protesters outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi on Monday during the 66th Tibetan National Uprising Day. Activists waved banners and Tibetan flags before being detained. The 1959 uprising led to the Dalai Lama's exile in India. China says it will take all necessary measures to protect its rights and interests after U.S. President Donald Trump's 25 percent tariffs on all metal and aluminum imports into the U.S. took effect. Trump emphasized that the tariffs must be reciprocal. North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea after South Korea began joint military drills with the U.S., the first major combined training of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term. A South Korean military official said this marks North Korea's fifth missile launch of the year. Across Pacific Island nations, journalists are pushing back on draconian laws and defamation cases and weighing the cost of Chinese economic help against true editorial freedom. VOA's Jessica Stone has the story. Celebration in December 2022. After more than a decade under a restrictive media law, a vote for change in the Pacific island of Fiji. Newly elected Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka: "I'd like to thank the people of Fiji and congratulate them.' The Rabuka government repealed a law that allowed the fining and jailing of journalists for up to two years for publishing stories considered against the national interest. 'The prime minister and the ministers, more or less, do not have any issues with answering questions.' Regional journalists rated Fiji's press freedoms in the top five of 14 nations surveyed for the first-ever Pacific Islands Media Freedom Index. 'This is just the first step for a better media for our Pacific people.' The island nation of Palau took the top spot in the index. Leilani Reklai is vice president of the Pacific Islands News Association and publisher of the Island Times. 'The journalists are protected specifically under the Constitution. And we also have laws that are in place to support the media.' But those protections are being tested. Reklai is named in a defamation lawsuit brought by a company owned by the father of Palau's president for what the company says are 'false and unsubstantiated allegations" about tax payments. Reklai believes the lawsuit is sending a message beyond the Island Times. 'It serves to have the journalists think twice before they print anything or [before] they express what they feel is the story that's going on.' Defamation lawsuits are also prevalent in the Pacific island of Tonga. Melino Maka, a commentator at the Tonga Independent, knows of many journalists entangled in them. Maka says these lawsuits exploit another vulnerability of the media here: a lack of funding. He says outlets sometimes resort to asking the Tongan or even the Chinese government for financial help, risking their editorial independence. 'Chinese pressure is always there behind the scenes.' Singh says the challenge now is ending the media's tendency to self-censor after almost 20 years of little to no accountability reporting in Fiji. Jessica Stone, VOA News. Visit for the most up-to-date stories. I'm Chris Casquejo. And finally, a modern take on traditional Korean pottery. The Denver Art Museum partnered with the National Museum of Korea to showcase the iconic 17th-century Korean moon jar. Some artists present traditional ceramics with a 21st-century twist, drawing inspiration from the jars' mysterious forms and imperfections. Thanks for watching VOA Asia Weekly.
Voice of America
10-03-2025
- Voice of America
ເກົາຫຼີເໜືອ ຍິງລູກສອນໄຟຂີປະນາວຸດຫຼາຍລູກ ເຂົ້າໄປໃນທະເລ ຫຼັງຈາກ ສະຫະລັດ ແລະເກົາຫຼີໃຕ້ ເລີ້ມການຊ້ອມລົບ
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Voice of America
10-03-2025
- Voice of America
Romanian far-right candidate to challenge presidential bid rejection at top court
Romanian far-right pro-Russian presidential contender Calin Georgescu will challenge a decision to bar him from taking part in a rerun of the election in May, one of his advisers told Reuters on Monday. Georgescu submitted his presidential bid on Friday after allegations of Russian interference in his favor prompted Romania's Constitutional Court to cancel the original election in December. Moscow denied the allegations of meddling. On Sunday, Romania's central election authority said it had decided to bar Georgescu's candidacy, saying it was inadmissible after the Constitutional Court's annulment of the December vote. Challenges to decisions by Romania's central election authority must be filed within 24 hours. The Constitutional Court should rule on Georgescu's appeal by Wednesday. Analysts have said it is unlikely that the top court will allow Georgescu to run again for the presidency in Romania, a member state of the European Union and NATO which shares a long border with Ukraine. The court set a precedent in October when it blocked the candidacy of another far-right candidate, arguing that her anti-European, pro-Russian views made her unfit for office. If the court upholds the central election authority's decision, the three ultranationalist parties, which hold 35% of seats in parliament and which backed Georgescu's previous bid for the presidency, risk having no candidate in the May election. George Simion, leader of the opposition Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), the second largest party in Romania's parliament, said he would meet with Georgescu on Monday. Asked if he was considering submitting his own candidacy, Simion told reporters: "We wait to see what Mr. Georgescu will say. We are not ruling out any options, but we are not speculators." Georgescu is under criminal investigation on six counts, including membership in a fascist organization and communicating false information about campaign financing. He has denied any wrongdoing.
