Latest news with #ChoiSang-mok
Epoch Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
South Korea Police Impose Travel Ban on Former Prime Minister Han and Ex-finance Minister Choi
SEOUL—South Korean police have banned former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ex-Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok from travelling abroad as part of a probe into alleged insurrection linked to former leader Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid, a police official said. The travel ban was imposed in mid-May, the Yonhap news agency reported. Han and Choi were questioned on Monday by a special police unit investigating former top government officials over insurrection charges, Yonhap said.
Sinar Daily
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
Ex-PM, former deputy PM barred from leaving South Korea in martial law probe
The exit bans were reportedly issued in mid-May, Yonhap news agency quoted the police Tuesday. 27 May 2025 03:15pm (COMBO) This combination of pictures made on May 27, 2025 shows South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok (L) attending a joint press conference on South Korea's post impeachment situation in Seoul on December 18, 2024, and former acting president Han Duck-soo speaking to formally announce his candidacy for the presidential election at the National Assembly in Seoul on May 2, 2025. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE and Jung Yeon-je / AFP) SEOUL - Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo and former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang Mok have been barred from leaving South Korea amid an ongoing investigation into an alleged insurrection attempt involving ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol. The exit bans were reportedly issued in mid-May, Yonhap news agency quoted the police Tuesday. Both Han and Choi have been named as suspects in connection with Yoon's failed attempt to declare martial law on Dec 3 last year. Police said the two were summoned on Monday, along with former Interior Minister Lee Sang Min, for questioning that lasted around 10 hours. Lee had already been placed under an exit ban earlier in December. The questioning focused on whether the former officials made false statements regarding how martial law-related documents were received during a Cabinet meeting held on the night of Dec 3. Police have completed analysis of surveillance footage from the presidential office's Cabinet meeting room and hallway as part of their investigation. - BERNAMA-YONHAP More Like This
Korea Herald
02-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Won gains to 5-month high
The Korean won gained its value sharply against the greenback on Friday, reaching the 1,390 won range for the first time in five months during after-hours trading. The won against the dollar strengthened to 1,397.2 won at around 18:42 p.m., gaining value by 30 won from 1,426.9 won, the closing price of the previous after-hours trading session. Its value per dollar stood at 1,393.27 won as of 9:50 p.m. The won's appreciation came amid the gain of the Chinese yuan. With China indicating a softening on its position in holding trade talks with the US administration, Asian currencies, including the Chinese yuan, gained value. The local won is treated as a proxy of the Chinese currency. Pressure on the selling side of the dollar increased as well, ahead of the holidays of major Asian economies. The local currency closed daytime trading with its value per dollar at 1,405.3 won. It was the strongest valuation of the won in terms of the daytime closing price since the market wrapped up at 1,402.9 won on Dec. 3, shortly before the currently ousted-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. The currency trading remained volatile, pricing in investor concerns on Korea's political uncertainty, after former Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok stepped down from his post during the National Assembly's impeachment vote on him. It fluctuated by 34.7 won during daytime trading, marking the largest fluctuation since the 37.4 won move on Nov. 11, 2022.
Korea Herald
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Will Cabinet work with just 14 members?
After the resignation of Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok late Thursday, the number of incumbent Cabinet members dropped to 14, raising concerns of the Cabinet being paralyzed. Earlier in the day on Thursday, acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo had already announced his resignation to launch his own presidential bid. His immediate successor, Choi, stepped down hours later as he faced possible impeachment by the National Assembly, ultimately handing the burden of the presidency to the third in line to be acting president: Education Minister Lee Ju-ho. According to Article 88 of the Constitution, the Cabinet in South Korea is to consist of the president and the prime minister, along with between 15 and 30 Cabinet members. This has sparked controversy over whether a Cabinet meeting could be held at all, as the constitutional requirement of "at least 15 members" for its composition may not have been met. There are currently 19 ministries, with each minister serving as a Cabinet member. If the president and the prime minister are added, the number of the Cabinet members becomes 21. However, out of the 21, seven of the positions remain vacant. Former President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appoint a successor after Kim Hyun-sook, who headed the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, resigned in February 2024. Following the martial law debacle in December last year, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min resigned. On April 8, former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo stepped down to launch his bid for the People Power Party's presidential nomination. With Yoon having his impeachment upheld by a Constitutional Court ruling that formally removed him from office, then Han Duck-soo and Choi Sang-mok resigning, vacancies in the Cabinet have now added up to seven. That leaves Lee Ju-ho, already a member of the Cabinet as education minister, to fulfill the roles of acting president and prime minister, which are dictated in Article 88 to also be chairperson and vice chairperson, respectively. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety sought to provide clarification on Friday regarding controversy over the quorum for a Cabinet meeting, stating, "A Cabinet meeting can be convened if at least 11 members are present." The ministry further stated, "The Cabinet meeting regulations specify that the quorum for a meeting is based on 'members' rather than 'current members,' so the quorum is the majority of the 21 members, which is 11." Decisions are made with the approval of two-thirds of those in attendance, it added. This is not the first time that the number of Cabinet members — aside from the president and prime minister — has fallen under the threshold of 15. During the Lee Myung-bak administration, which had just 15 ministries at the time, a vacancy occurred in the interior minister position in 2009. Though the number of sitting ministers dropped to 14 at the time, the Cabinet maintained its validity.
South China Morning Post
02-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
South Koreans frustrated with constant leadership churn: ‘I stopped caring'
In the American drama Designated Survivor, the US secretary of housing and urban development unexpectedly assumes the presidency after 12 officials ahead of him in the line of succession are wiped out. Advertisement A less dramatic but equally surreal scenario unfolded in South Korea on Friday, though the presidential line of succession did not make it to No 13. On Thursday, former acting president and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo resigned to run for president, while former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok stepped down following an impeachment push in the National Assembly by the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Now, with the snap presidential election set for June 3, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho is serving as acting president. With former president Yoon Suk-yeol impeached last month and the nation's No 2 and No 3 officials no longer in power, South Korea is facing an unprecedented leadership vacuum, intensifying public concerns over the uncertainty of its political future. Advertisement 'Seriously? Even the education minister is acting president now? That was my first thought when I saw the news,' Song Hyun-woo, a 26-year-old preparing to become a navy officer, said.
