What happened
South Korea's Constitutional Court today began weighing whether to ratify Saturday's impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The opposition-led National Assembly's successful impeachment motion, driven by Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, immediately suspended him from office, making Prime Minister Han Duck-soo the acting president. Yoon also faces at least two investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges.
Who said what
Yoon's "fall was as fast as his rise" — a "political outsider" who "squeaked into the presidency in 2022 on his first bid at public office," The Washington Post said. The "bullheaded" former top prosecutor, facing a "deeply divided nation," chose to "appeal to his conservative base" and treat the opposition Democratic Party as his enemy.
Yoon's martial law decree was a step too far for some of his allies, and "at least 12 members" of his ruling People Power Party voted to impeach him Saturday, Reuters said. "If martial law had not been lifted that night, a bloody incident could have erupted that morning between the citizens" and "our young soldiers," PPP chair Han Dong-hoon said today as he announced his resignation as leader of the divided party.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Han Duck-soo, the acting president, moved to reassure allies and global markets. He called President Joe Biden yesterday to recommit to pursuing joint foreign and security policies.
What next?
The Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide Yoon's fate, though "observers say that a court ruling could come faster," The Associated Press said. In South Korea's other two presidential impeachment cases, the court took 63 days to reinstate Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and 91 days to remove Park Geun-hye in 2016. If Yoon is dismissed, the country has 60 days to pick his successor in a national election.
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternative
Speed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s order
Speed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander push
Speed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
