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A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday on some charges related to his imposition of martial law. The verdict is the first against Yoon in the eight criminal trials over the decree he issued in late 2024 and other allegations. The most significant charge against him alleges that he led a rebellion in connection with his martial law enforcement and it carries a potential death penalty. The Seoul Central District Court in the case decided Friday sentenced him for other charges like his defiance of authorities' attempts to detain him. Yoon hasn't immediately publicly responded to the ruling. But when an independent counsel earlier demanded a 10-year prison term for Yoon over those charges, Yoon's defense team accused them of being politically driven and lacking legal grounds to demand such an excessive sentence. Yoon has been impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December
A fire on Friday in one of Seoul's last-remaining shanty towns burned makeshift houses and forced dozens of residents to flee, but no casualties were immediately reported. Much of the fire was under control about 6 1/2 hours after the blaze broke out in Guryong village in southern Seoul, fire officials said. Local fire officer Jeong Gwang-hun told a televised briefing that rescuers were searching each house in the burned area to look for possible victims. More than 1,200 personnel including firefighters and police officers were deployed to the scene, he said, adding the cause of the fire was under investigation. The hillside village has occasionally had fires over the years, a vulnerability that observers say is linked to its tightly packed homes built with materials that easily burn. The village is located near some of Seoul's most expensive neighbourhoods, with towering high-rise apartments and lavish shopping districts, and has long been a symbol of South Korea's stark income .
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is part of an all-party parliamentary delegation visiting South Korea, on Monday warned that the world needs to be very careful and mindful of how Pakistan has been harbouring terrorism. At a high-level dialogue with Korean think tanks in Seoul, Banerjee said, "Breeding a snake in your backyard and expecting it to bite only your neighbour is the last thing one should think of." "Once that snake is unleashed, it will end up biting whoever it can. A snake remains a snake. So we need to be very careful and mindful of how Pakistan has been harbouring terrorism and terrorists from 9/11, 26/11 to Uri, Pahalgam - repeatedly, one after another terror attacks. Osama Bin Laden was found in Abbottabad, a place in Pakistan," he said. "We want to tell this with all humility and grace that any support extended to Pakistan is a support to terror organisations. Anyone endorsing or defending Pakistan's actions is, in essence, backing terrorism," he ...
An all-party parliamentary delegation led by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha arrived in Seoul on Saturday as part of the government's outreach with the international community on the fight against terror and on the significance of Operation Sindoor. The scheduled visit from May 24-26 will strengthen ongoing efforts to further India's principled and resolute stance of zero tolerance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, the Indian Embassy here said in a press release. During the course of the visit, the delegation will engage with senior officials of the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dignitaries from the National Assembly and senior representatives from prominent think tanks and media. The delegation is one of the seven multi-party delegations India has tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community on Pakistan's designs and India's response to terror. Besides Jha, the delegation comprises of MPs Aparajita Sarangi,
Former Labour Minister Kim Moon Soo won the presidential nomination of South Korea's main conservative party, facing an uphill battle against liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung for the June 3 election. Observers say Kim will likely try to align with other conservative forces, such as former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, to prevent a split in conservative votes in a bid to boost prospects for a conservative win against Lee. In a party primary that ended Saturday, Kim won 56.5 per cent of the votes cast, beating his sole competitor, Han Dong-hun, the party said in a televised announcement. Other contenders have been eliminated in earlier rounds. I'll form a strong alliance with anyone to prevent a rule by Lee Jae-myung and his Democratic Party forces. I'll push for that in a procedure and method that our people and members accept, and I'll ultimately win, Kim said in his victory speech. Kim, 73, served as a governor of South Korea's most populous Gyeonggi province and a member of the
South Korea's Constitutional Court said it will rule on whether to formally dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol this Friday. It has been deliberating on Yoon's political fate over his ill-fated imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis. Whatever decision is, it will likely deepen domestic divisions. Millions of people have rallied in Seoul and elsewhere to support or denounce Yoon in the past few months. Police said they'll mobilize all available personnel to preserve order and respond to acts of vandalism, arson and assault. The Constitutional Court said in a statement Tuesday that it would issue the ruling Friday. The opposition-controlled liberal National Assembly in December voted to impeach Yoon, a conservative, leaving his political fate in the hands of the Constitutional Court. Yoon is facing a separate criminal trial after he was arrested and indicted by prosecutors in January on rebellion charges in connection with his Dec. 3 ...
North Korea sent around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February in continued support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine, South Korea's military said Thursday in its latest assessment. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has also been sending more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and that North Korea could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation. Russia and Ukraine recently agreed on a limited ceasefire, though both sides have accused each other of violations. The military equipment North Korea has sent to Russia includes a considerable amount of short-range ballistic missiles, 170 millimetre self-propelled howitzers and around 220 units of 240 millimetre multiple rocket launchers. North Korea has sent approximately 11,000 military personnel to fight in the war against Ukraine in its first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War, and the Joint Chiefs
North Korea is demolishing a South Korea-built property that had been used to host reunions of families separated during the 1950-53 Korean War, the South's government said Thursday, as it continues to eliminate symbols of engagement between the war-divided rivals. Relations between the Koreas are at their worst in years, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continuing to flaunt his expanding nuclear weapons program and declaring to abandon long-standing goals of inter-Korean reconciliation, while describing the South as a permanent enemy. The 12-story building at the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort, which has 206 rooms and banquet facilities for hosting meetings, had been used for family reunions since 2009. The Koreas last held a family reunion in 2018, after Kim initiated diplomacy with Seoul and Washington in an effort to leverage his nuclear program for economic benefits. Negotiations derailed in 2019 after a failed summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump, who w
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma embarked on a trip to South Korea and Japan on Sunday to invite prospective investors and entrepreneurs for the Advantage Assam Summit 2.0, a business conclave to be hosted by the state government here next month. He will attend roadshows presenting the summit during the visits, with such events being held in a total of eight countries. "Namaste South Korea. Look forward to having engaging discussions with industry leaders and agencies during my 3-day visit starting today to showcase Assam's potential ahead of the #AdvantageAssam2 Summit and to take forward the warm Indo-Korea ties," Sarma posted on X as he flew to Seoul. In another post, the CM said the visit to the two Asian countries will be over a period of five days. "I am shortly leaving for Seoul and Tokyo on a 5 day visit to present our vision of #AdvantageAssam2 to prospective investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders," he said in the post just after midnight on Sunday. "During
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing possible impeachment for sending heavily armed soldiers into Seoul's streets with a baffling declaration of martial law that reminded many of the country's past military-backed dictatorships. Lawmakers began impeachment proceedings against Yoon just hours after parliament unanimously voted to cancel martial law, forcing the president to lift his order about six hours after it began. Opposition parties are pushing for a vote on Saturday on the impeachment motion, which needs support from two-thirds of the National Assembly to advance to the Constitutional Court, which would decide whether to remove Yoon from office. In a surprising turnaround, the head of Yoon's governing party expressed support for suspending the president's powers, making Yoon's impeachment more likely. Here's what to know about the situation: Will Yoon be impeached? Opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote on Yoon's impeachment on Saturday, calling hi