South Korea's ex-President indicted for abuse of power
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
South Korean prosecutors requested a new arrest warrant on July 6 to detain former President Yoon Suk Yeol, after questioning him twice, including a session that lasted over nine hours. Photo / AFP
Disgraced South Korean ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted for abuse of power over his declaration of martial law last year, as investigators widened an insurrection probe.
Yoon plunged South Korea into a political crisis when he sought to subvert civilian rule on December 3, sending troops to Parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers voting down his declaration of martial law.
He became the first sitting President in the country to be taken into custody when he was detained in January after resisting arrest for weeks, using his presidential security detail to thwart investigators.
He was released on procedural grounds in March, even as his trial on insurrection charges continued.
Last week, he was detained again after an arrest warrant was issued over concerns he might destroy evidence in the case.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Letters to the Editor: voting, parking and mining
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including the new electoral law proposals, replacing car parks with cycle lanes, and the Santana gold mine develoment. Former MP condemns electoral law proposals From 1990 until 1999 I was a member of Parliament's electoral law select committee. During those nine years a wide range of changes and reforms to electoral law were proposed. At no time did anyone propose changes remotely as retrograde as those that the current government is progressing. Had they done, they would have been opposed by all political parties, left wing or right wing. Western democracies usually seek to make voting as easy as possible, or alternatively compulsory, to ensure governments are elected validly and have the moral authority to govern. This government's changes are voter suppression, pure and simple. Those affected are likely to be a mix of young, poor, brown and transient. Furthermore, with one exception, all elections since MMP began in 1996 have been surprisingly close. The 110,000 people who may now be disenfranchised are enough to affect the result, and therefore the will of the nation. We should all be deeply concerned. A wrong move I am alarmed to see the coalition government following the American example of making voter enrolment more inconvenient. Justice officials say closing enrolments ahead of advance voting could result in lower turnout and reduce confidence in the electoral system. Those voters who are either working long hours or irregular hours will be most affected by the cancelling of same-day election enrolment. In America over the last 20 years the conservative Republican Party in various states has consistently made it more difficult for working people and minorities to vote. The need to prove your permanent address has been used to disqualify minority voters as America has moved toward becoming a more authoritarian society. Cancelling same-day enrolment is a move in the wrong direction. Trumpism is not a good look in our electoral system. Our electoral system is too important for democracy to be changed casually. Any changes to the electoral systems, even minor ones, should be agreed across parties. Just winning an election should not give political parties the right to alter the electoral system. A great risk I write in profound concern upon realising the extent of voter restrictions this government is considering. Total disenfranchisement for prisoners was sadistic in my opinion, certainly not aiding return to normal life, but to read of universal restrictions for enrolment beggars belief. Or, rather, it confirms that the really needy of New Zealand are also of the same great risk, even should they understand that asking for special votes is possible, though these will be well scrutinised. In particular, the proposed "ability to check enrolment details with data from other government agencies" surely jeopardises privacy, while "greater use of digital communication" has obvious drawbacks, to those without required means (probably mostly elderly) or are not familiar or comfortable with voting process, until now having face-to-face communication with poll clerk or returning officer. Universal emancipation is a vital necessity of an enlightened society, a fact of which this government seems unwilling to ensure. Heavy machinery and losing your car park How would anyone like to have large machinery working about 4m from where he/she was studying for examinations or resting? That happened when the Dunedin City Council worked underground on the Albany St pipes. Now a few DCC personnel have decided to rob about 60 much needed Albany St car parks from right outside the numerous student flats and businesses. This cycle lane is being forced on to those who don't want it. How many cyclists will use it? Cyclists appear to ride anywhere at all, and few appear to keep to the cycle lanes. I have spoken to several present tenants who are surprised and angry to hear their parks will be taken. Where will students' families or shuttle buses park when they need to move students in and out of their student flats? Where will the students, who own cars, park their cars? Most flats and hostels do not provide sufficient parks for all cars and some have no parking areas at all. These people have agreed to waste local money ruining Albany St businesses and living areas. How would each feel if their livelihoods (or streets in which they live) were to be treated in this offhand way? The RMA is there to allay mine concerns The development of the Santana gold mine in the Bendigo area, the site of significant gold mining over 100 years ago, has generated a lot of media coverage, most of which appears to be opposed. Our current principle planning document clearly allows consenting authorities to provide consents for the activities with conditions which should allay the concerns of opposition groups and individuals. These conditions could require the applicant to avoid, remedy or mitigate real or perceived adverse effects on a whole host of values. These could include amenity, visual, natural beauty, landscape, protection of flora and fauna etc. The applicant has the choice of accepting such conditions, appealing them, or choosing not to proceed. This process has the significant advantage of providing environmental and amenity value protection and allowing the activity to proceed . This is entirely consistent with the purpose of this current principle planning document (the Resource Management Act). Manic Monday I guess Monday is a day to stir the pot and get people to react with hopefully more good letters to the editor. Two letters got me thinking, so here goes. Lynne Newell (28.7.25): discussing a world event may not be top of the list of council duties but I think it's relevant. Councillors are our chosen representatives just as parliamentarians are. No-one lives in a bubble. Tony Vink (28.7.25): you are looking through rose-tinted glasses when it comes to Israel. They remind me of the wolf dressed in sheep skin. Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@
Scoop
10 hours ago
- Scoop
Greens Launch Petition Against Govt's Attack On Democracy
The Green Party has launched a petition calling on the Government to keep its hands off voting rights. 'We cannot allow this Government to rob New Zealanders of their democratic rights,' says the Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. 'Make no mistake, the Government is making calculated changes to electoral law that erode the democratic rights of regular people and play into the hands of a wealthy few. 'By blocking voters and also opening the floodgates for anonymous donations from the rich, this Government is distorting the settings of our democracy in their favour. 'Who gets to vote and who gets to influence Parliament, decides the future of our country. These laws slam the door on everyday people while rolling out the red carpet for wealthy donors who bankroll parties in this Coalition Government. 'We are calling on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice to drop this anti-democratic legislation. 'A Green Government will reverse these rollbacks: restoring same-day enrolment, reinstating voting rights for prisoners, cleaning up campaign finance and extending the vote to 16-year-olds. 'Democracy is for everyone, we should be expanding voting and participation, not restricting it,' says Marama Davidson.
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- RNZ News
Luxon says New Zealand won't adopt UK's stance on Palestinian statehood yet
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (L) speak during their bilateral meeting in April. Photo: AFP / Pool / Frank Augstein Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he will speak to his British counterpart about the United Kingdom's new stance on Palestinian statehood, but says New Zealand won't be following its lead "at this stage". "Not at this point," Luxon told reporters on Wednesday. "Obviously, I will be talking with Sir Keir Starmer around his position, which is a conditional statehood." Earlier, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced an intention to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September unless Israel agreed to key conditions, including a ceasefire in Gaza. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Starmer was rewarding Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punishing its victims. In response to questions from RNZ, Luxon said New Zealand had long supported the eventual recognition of Palestinian statehood, but that the immediate focus should be on getting aid into Gaza rather than "fragmenting and talking about all sorts of other things that are distractions". "We need to put the pressure on Israel to get humanitarian assistance unfettered, at scale, at volume, into Gaza," he told RNZ. "You can talk about a whole bunch of other things, but for right now, the world needs to focus." New Zealand signed a separate joint statement with 14 other countries overnight expressing a willingness to recognise the state of Palestine as a necessary step towards a two-state solution. Luxon said while there were "slight differences" between various countries' positions, all were distressed by the lack of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza. "We are a long way away," Luxon said. "We have very little influence, and we have very little trading connection with Israel in particular ... we have to send our messages and our concerns out in very unambiguous terms." During Parliament's Question Time on Wednesday afternoon, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand steadfastly supported the establishment of a Palestinian state and the right of the Palestinian people to self determination. But he said the government first needed to see progress from Palestine, including representative governance, commitment to non-violence, and security guarantees for Israel. "If we are to recognise the state of Palestine, New Zealand wants to know that what we are recognising is a legitimate, representative, viable, political entity," Peters said. Peters also agreed with a contribution from ACT's Simon Court that recognising the state of Palestine before Hamas had returned hostages or laid down arms could constitute a "reward for acts of terrorism". "That's most likely how it'd be interpreted," Peters replied. Opposition parties have called on the government to move with more haste. On Wednesday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was time for New Zealand to act: "We shouldn't wait for other countries to embarrass us into doing it." And Green co-leader Marama Davidson questioned what the government was waiting for. "What more do they need to see?" she said. "What more suffering do they need to actually see with their own eyes [before] doing something committed or definite like recognising Palestinian statehood?" Peters said the opposition parties were being "absolutist" and "naive." "They've got no idea what they're talking about," Peters said. "We would recognise, if we had a group legitimately to recognise." Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during the next UNGA meeting. Norway, Spain, and Ireland did so last year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
