Page 9 - South Korea

A look at turbulent life of S Korean leader Yoon ousted over martial law

Yoon Suk Yeol's political rise was fast: the former star prosecutor clinched South Korea's presidency only a year after he entered politics. But his downfall was even faster: The Constitutional Court removed him from office on Friday, about four months after he made a deeply baffling decision to declare martial law and send troops to Seoul's streets. Yoon's style highly assertive and strong-willed, but often uncompromising and inflexible worked for a prosecutor standing up to higher-ups, but not for a president forced to work with an opposition-dominated legislature on an array of contentious issues. Yoon, 64, a conservative, said his martial law decree was a desperate attempt to call on public support for his fight against anti-state liberal rivals who used their parliamentary majority to obstruct his agenda and impeach top officials. But many observers say the stunt was political suicide, as the liberal opposition-controlled parliament quickly struck down Yoon's decree before ..

South Korean court ousts President Yoon Suk Yeol after martial law debacle

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed by the Constitutional Court following his declaration of martial law, triggering fresh elections within 60 days

S Korea's court to rule Friday on dismissal of impeached President Yoon

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 ...

US, Europe bet big on K-beauty products, skincare with acquisition deals

Seoul, long a destination for beauty services, last year became the top exporter of cosmetics to America, overtaking France, according to the US International Trade Commission

S Korea, China, Japan agree to promote regional trade as Trump tariffs loom

The countries' three trade ministers agreed to 'closely cooperate for a comprehensive and high-level' talks on a South Korea-Japan-China FTA

Putin to visit India, Waqf Bill, Trump's auto tariffs, South Korea wildfire & more

Russia today confirmed that President Putin will visit India soon, following an invitation from PM Modi during his visit to Moscow last year.

S Korea in uphill battle to contain massive wildfires as death toll hits 26

Multiple wildfires raging across South Korea's southern regions for days have killed 26 people and destroyed more than 300 structures, officials said, as thousands of personnel and dozens of helicopters were mobilized again Thursday to battle the the county's worst-ever blazes. Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop said a small amount - less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) - of rain was expected in the area on Thursday, not enough to play a meaningful role in extinguishing the wildfires. The fatalities include a pilot whose helicopter crashed during efforts to contain a fire and four firefighters and other workers who died after being trapped by fast-moving flames driven by strong winds. Authorities haven't disclosed details of the civilian dead, except that they are mostly in their 60s and 70s. They suspect human error caused several of the wildfires that began last Friday, including cases where people started fires while clearing overgrown grass from family tombs or with sparks

Wildfires ravage southern S Korea, killing 18, forcing 27,000 to evacuate

At least 16 people died and another 19 were injured as wildfires ravaged South Korea's southern regions amid dry weather and strong winds, government officials said on Wednesday. Officials in Andong city and other southeastern cities and towns ordered residents to evacuate on Tuesday as firefighters struggled to contain multiple blazes fuelled by dry winds, which burned more than 43,000 acres of land and destroyed hundreds of structures, including a 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple. More than 5,500 people were forced to evacuate from their homes in Andong, the neighbouring counties of Uiseong and Sancheong, and the city of Ulsan, where the fires were the largest, according to South Korea's Ministry of Interior and Safety. South Korean officials earlier on Tuesday said that firefighters had extinguished most of the flames from the largest wildfires in those areas, but the ongoing dry and windy weather caused setbacks and allowed the blazes to spread again. Nearly 9,000 firefighters, .

Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-hee dies at 63 after cardiac arrest

Han was in charge of Samsung's consumer electronics and mobile devices division, while co-CEO Jun Young-hyun oversees the chip business of South Korea's biggest company

What is Unification Church and why did a Japanese court order it dissolved?

A controversial South Korean church with powerful political connections faces dissolution in Japan after a Tokyo court ordered a revocation of its legal status after the government accused it of manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that sowed fear among followers and harmed their families. The Tokyo District Court's ruling would end the Unification Church's tax-exempt status in Japan and force it to liquidate its assets. The church said it is considering an immediate appeal to the country's highest court. The Unification Church has faced hundreds of lawsuits in Japan from families who say that it manipulated members into draining their savings to make donations, but for decades it largely escaped official scrutiny and maintained close links with the governing Liberal Democratic Party. That changed in 2022, when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated. The man accused of shooting Abe allegedly was motivated by the former prime minister's links to the church and

What to know about reinstatement of South Korea's PM Han Duck-soo

In the latest twist in South Korea's ongoing political crisis, the country's Constitutional Court reinstated Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as acting leader, overturning his impeachment by opposition lawmakers three months ago. The court's ruling on Monday marks just one front in the deepening turmoil as it simultaneously weighs the far more consequential case of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose December impeachment over his brief but stunning martial law decree has left the country's leadership in limbo for months. Here's a look at the court's decision and what's ahead: How did Han get reinstated? The prime minister typically holds limited authority as the country's second-highest official. But Han, a career bureaucrat who has held various government roles since the 1970s, was elevated as the government's caretaker after South Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached Yoon on Dec. 14. Yoon's impeachment, triggered by his short-lived imposition of martial l

South Korean court reinstates impeached PM Han as Yoon awaits ruling

Han was suspended from duties in late December while serving as acting president for resisting pressure from the opposition to appoint new judges

South Korea's political turmoil deepens as impeachment verdict looms

South Korea faces political and geopolitical uncertainty as President Yoon's impeachment trial drags on, raising concerns over domestic stability, foreign alliances, and growing security threats

South Korea declares emergency as wildfires kill 4, displace hundreds

Authorities have mobilised dozens of vehicles and hundreds of officials to extinguish the fire that has burned about 847 hectares of land

North Korea tests new missiles, threatens action over US-South Korea drills

North Korea said on Friday it test-launched new anti-aircraft missiles, as its military threatened unspecified grave steps against the US and South Korea over their joint military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The official Korean Central News Agency said that leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the tests Thursday and called the missiles involved another major defense weapons system for North Korea. The missile launches, North Korea's sixth weapons testing activity this year, occurred on the same day that the US and South Korean militaries concluded their annual Freedom Shield command post exercise. The 11-day training was the allies' first major joint military exercises since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, and the two countries held diverse field training exercises alongside the Freedom Shield drills. The US and South Korean officials describe their combined military drills as defensive in nature, but North Korea slams them as a major security threat.

What to expect as South Korea's court rules on President Yoon's impeachment

South Korea's Constitutional Court could soon rule on whether to dismiss or reinstate impeached conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol. That doesn't mean the political crisis caused by Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law is over. South Korea's already-severe political divide between conservatives and liberals will likely intensify as Seoul grapples with major foreign policy challenges like U.S. President Donald Trump's America First foreign policy platform and North Korea's increasing military cooperation with Russia. Here's what to expect about the court's likely impending verdict on Yoon's Dec. 3 martial law decree that is testing South Korea's democracy. What might the court do? The Constitutional Court has been deliberating whether to formally end Yoon's presidency since the liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly in December voted to suspend him. Yoon is also facing a separate criminal trial after his arrest and indictment by prosecutors in January for alleged ..

North Korea fired missiles off west coast, says South Korea amid US drills

The missiles fired by North Korea coincided with the start of annual joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, which North Korea perceives as a rehearsal for invasion

North Korea shows nuclear-powered submarine under construction for 1st time

North Korea unveiled for the first time a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, a weapons system that can pose a major security threat to South Korea and the US. State media on Saturday released photos showing what it called a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine, as it reported leader Kim Jong Un's visits to major shipyards where warships are built. The Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, didn't provide details on the submarine, but said Kim was briefed on its construction. The naval vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one which can carry about 10 missiles, said Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert who teaches at Seoul's Hanyang University. He said the use of the term the strategic guided missiles meant it would carry nuclear-capable weapons. It would be absolutely threatening to us and the US, Moon said. A nuclear-powered submarine was among a long wishlist of sophisticated weaponry that Kim vowed to introduce during a major

South Korean court says impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol can leave prison

The initial decision to release Yoon from detention in his criminal case comes as a verdict approaches in his impeachment trial

South Korea suspends some military drills after accidental bombing

South Korea suspended the training flights of air force aircraft and all live-fire drills following its fighter jets' accidental bombing of a civilian area, officials said Friday, posing a potential setback to its upcoming annual military training with the United States. On Thursday, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly released four MK-82 bombs each on a civilian area in Pocheon, a city near the tense border with North Korea. The bombing, which injured nearly 30 people, two of them seriously, occurred when South Korean and US forces were engaging in a live-fire drill in connection with their broader Freedom Shield command post exercise set to begin Monday. This year's Freedom Shield exercise is the allies' first major joint training since President Donald Trump returned to office in January and comes amid concerns about North Korea's booming military cooperation with Russia. South Korea and the US announced details of the exercises on Thursday, but it was overshadowed by