Latest news with #ChoiSangmok
News24
28-05-2025
- Business
- News24
South Korea bans former acting presidents Han Duck-soo and Choi Sang-mok from travel
Anthony Wallace and Jung Yeon-je/AFP Former South Korean acting presidents have been banned from travel. Han Duck-soo and Choi Sang-mok may not travel internationally. South Koreans are set to vote for a new president next week. South Korean authorities have imposed travel bans on two former acting presidents as part of an investigation into ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol's December martial law bid, Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday. 'Police said on May 27 that former prime minister Han Duck-soo and former finance minister Choi Sang-mok have been banned from leaving the country as they are being investigated as suspects in an insurrection case,' Yonhap reported, adding the ban came into effect in mid-May. Yoon was formally stripped of office in April after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over his 3 December attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament. He is currently on trial on insurrection charges over that declaration. If found guilty, Yoon would become the third South Korean president to be found guilty of insurrection - after two military leaders in connection with a 1979 coup. For charges of insurrection, Yoon could be sentenced to life in prison or the maximum penalty: The death sentence. South Koreans go to the polls next week to elect Yoon's successor, capping months of political turmoil since the martial law declaration. Career bureaucrat Han had been touted as a possible candidate to replace him. Pedro Pardo/AFP The ruling People Power Party (PPP) this month was forced to backtrack after trying to revoke former labour minister Kim Moon-soo's candidacy in favour of Han. Reuters reported that liberal frontrunner for president Lee Jae-myung was leading his main conservative rival Kim by more than 10 percentage points in an opinion poll issued on Tuesday, though the race had tightened a week ahead of the election. The next leader will have to mend the reputation of a country that transitioned from dictatorship to a democratic success story in the 1980s while spurring stalled growth, managing uncertain US trade policies and dealing with nuclear-armed North Korea. Pedro Pardo/AFP The Democratic Party candidate Lee, who has advocated using fiscal policy to support the economy and bringing to justice anyone involved in Yoon's botched attempt to declare martial law in December, had 49% public support against Kim of the People Power Party with 35%, the Gallup Korea poll showed. Kim has eroded what was a more than 20 percentage point gap with Lee at the start of the campaign on 12 May, but has failed to convince another conservative candidate - New Reform Party's Lee Jun-seok - to drop out and back him to improve his chances. Third-party candidate Lee Jun-seok had 11%, according to the poll, which was one of the last major surveys to be published before a week-long blackout period that begins on Wednesday, when new polls are banned from publication by law. South Korea has been in trade talks with the US and is seeking a waiver from the tariffs President Donald Trump announced as his administration pressures Seoul to resolve a large trade imbalance between the partners. Kim, who was a hardline labour minister under Yoon, has tried to court centrist voters, pledging business-friendly policies including deregulation and investment incentives and a tough stance against North Korea. In a sign of divisions on the liberal side, however, former prime minister Lee Nak-yon, who represents a minority faction in the Democratic Party, announced his support for Kim on Tuesday, saying Lee's tendency to abuse majority power must be checked.
Al Jazeera
27-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
South Korea bars two former acting presidents from overseas travel
South Korean authorities have slapped travel bans on two former acting presidents as part of an investigation into alleged insurrection linked to ex-leader Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law bid last year, according to local reports. Police barred former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ex-Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok from travelling abroad in mid-May as they underwent investigation as suspects in the insurrection case, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday. Yoon, who served as president for three years, declared emergency martial law in December 2024, claiming that antistate and North Korean forces had infiltrated the government, deploying troops onto the streets of the capital. The declaration was revoked hours later by parliament, thrusting South Korea into an unprecedented constitutional crisis that involved both Han and Choi serving as acting presidents. The former acting presidents were questioned on Monday by a special police unit over the role they had played in Yoon's short-lived martial law. Since his impeachment, there have been questions over whether they had resisted the move as they claimed. Yoon was formally stripped of office last month, with a judge at South Korea's Constitutional Court ruling that he had overstepped his authority by deploying troops in the capital. Senior military and police officials testified they were ordered to detain rival politicians. The former president is currently on trial on insurrection charges, potentially facing life in prison or the country's maximum penalty: the death sentence. If found guilty, he would become the third South Korean president to be convicted of insurrection after two military leaders in connection with a 1979 coup. South Koreans go to the polls next week to elect Yoon's successor, capping months of political turmoil since the martial law declaration. Han attempted to win the ruling conservative People Power Party's presidential nomination, but was forced to drop out this month after internecine disputes, which led to rival Kim Moon-soo being chosen.
CNA
27-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
South Korea police impose travel ban on former PM 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 (May 26) by a special police unit investigating former top government officials over insurrection charges, Yonhap said. After Yoon was impeached for violating the duties of his office in December, there have been questions about what role Han and Choi played in the former leader's short-lived martial law and if they had resisted the move as they claimed. The Dec 3 martial law declaration, which was revoked hours later by parliament, thrust South Korea into an unprecedented constitutional crisis that involved both Han and Choi serving as acting president.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Korea police impose foreign travel ban on ex-PM Han and ex-finance minister Choi
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean police have imposed a ban on foreign travel for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ex-finance minister Choi Sang-mok as part of an investigation into alleged insurrection, a police official said on Tuesday.
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
South Korea police impose foreign travel ban on ex-PM Han and ex-finance minister Choi
SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters) - South Korean police have imposed a ban on foreign travel for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ex-finance minister Choi Sang-mok as part of an investigation into alleged insurrection, a police official said on Tuesday.
