Latest news with #YoonSukyeol
NHK
5 days ago
- General
- NHK
South Korean voters cast ballots in presidential election
South Korean voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new president, after former leader Yoon Suk-yeol was ousted over his declaration of martial law. Voting began at 6 a.m. at more than 14,000 polling stations across the country. Voters were seen casting their ballots at a station in central Seoul early in the morning. The election is seen as a showdown between the candidate for the largest opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, and Kim Moon-soo of the conservative ruling People Power Party. On the last day of campaigning on Monday, the two candidates made their final pitches to voters. The election hinges on how voters evaluate the performance of the Yoon administration. The polling stations will close at 8 p.m., and vote counting will start immediately.
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 The declaration was revoked hours later by parliament, thrusting South Korea into an unprecedented constitutional crisis that involved both Han and Choi serving as acting presidents.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.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
After hardline Yoon, South Korea needs a more balanced foreign policy
With South Korea's presidential election less than two weeks away, the stakes couldn't be higher for a nation at a critical crossroads. Since former president Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment for declaring martial law in December, the country desperately needs leadership to restore domestic stability and navigate increasingly complex geopolitics. Advertisement Society remains deeply divided, with massive demonstrations that support or oppose Yoon. The political turmoil extends to the ruling People Power Party (PPP), which has repeatedly changed its presidential candidate. Recent polling shows opposition Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung leading with 49 per cent support, well ahead of the PPP's Kim Moon-soo, at 27 per cent. While Lee's party traditionally leans left, he has shifted noticeably towards the centre for his campaign. Mindful of undecided conservative voters, he has moderated his rhetoric, abandoning many of the progressive stances that defined his presidential bids in 2017 and 2022, when he faced criticism for being too soft on North Korea and too pro-China. His campaign launch speech omits any mention of North Korea, focuses on domestic priorities and calls for 'proactive and forward-looking pragmatism'. This reflects the delicate balancing act required of South Korean politicians, who must address domestic concerns while preparing for complex foreign policy challenges. While economic concerns dominate voters' minds – particularly after the won's recent plummet – foreign policy demands equal attention. South Korea's position at the nexus of major power competition makes geopolitical considerations unavoidable. Any president who neglects this risks compromising national security and long-term stability. Advertisement
Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Moonies leader banned from leaving South Korea amid bribery probe
Prosecutors in South Korea have banned the leader of the 'Moonies' church from leaving the country as they investigate a bribery scandal involving the wife of the former president, Yoon Suk-yeol. Han Hak-ja Moon, 82, the widow of the founder of the controversial Unification Church, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, faces allegations of links to a shamanic figure who delivered luxury goods to the former first lady, Kim Keon-hee. Items given to Kim in the summer of 2022, shortly after her husband's inauguration, are alleged to include a Graff diamond necklace and Chanel handbag worth a total of 60 million won (£32,500). Investigators earlier this month questioned Jeon Seong-bae, a shaman who goes by Geonjin, over whether he presented the gifts to the then
South China Morning Post
10-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
South Korea's conservatives fails to swap presidential candidates in chaotic U-turn
South Korea's embattled conservative party cancelled then reinstated the presidential candidacy of Kim Moon-soo within hours as internal turmoil escalated ahead of the June 3 election. Advertisement Saturday's chaotic U-turn, after a failed attempt to replace Kim with former prime minister Han Duck-soo, underscored the People Power Party's leadership crisis following the ousting of former president Yoon Suk-yeol over his martial law imposition in December, which possibly doomed the conservatives' chances of winning another term in government. Kim, a staunch conservative and former labour minister under Yoon, was named the PPP's presidential candidate on May 3 after winning 56.3 per cent of the primary vote, defeating a reformist rival who had criticised Yoon's martial law. But the PPP's leadership, dominated by Yoon loyalists, had spent the past week desperately pressuring Kim to step aside and back Han, whom they believed stood a stronger chance against liberal Democratic Party front runner Lee Jae-myung. After talks between Han and Kim failed to unify their candidacies, the PPP's emergency committee took the unprecedented step early Saturday of nullifying its primary, cancelling Kim's nomination and registering Han as both a party member and its new presidential candidate. Advertisement However, the replacement required approval through an all-party vote conducted through an automated phone survey, which ultimately rejected the switch on Saturday night.
