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South Korea In Political Crisis After Suspended President Resists Arrest

Published

7 months ago

January 4, 2025

South Korea’s political leadership was in uncharted territory Saturday after the sitting president resisted arrest over a failed martial law decree days before the warrant expires.

In scenes of high drama on Friday, Yoon Suk Yeol’s presidential guards and military troops shielded the former star prosecutor from investigators, who called off their arrest attempt citing safety concerns.

The South Korean president was impeached and suspended last month after the bungled martial law declaration — a political move swiftly overturned by parliament — with a separate warrant later issued for his arrest.

“There was a standoff. While we estimated the personnel blocking us to be around 200, there could have been more,” an official from the investigation team said Friday on condition of anonymity.

“It was a dangerous situation.”

Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.

If the warrant is carried out, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.

– Arrest showdown –

Since his impeachment, Yoon has holed up in his presidential residence in the capital Seoul, where he has refused to emerge for questioning three times.

The unprecedented showdown — which reportedly included clashes but no shots fired — left the arrest attempt by investigators in limbo with the court-ordered warrant set to expire on Monday.

Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), probing Yoon over his martial law decree, could make another bid to arrest him before then.

But if the warrant lapses, they may apply for another.

The Constitutional Court slated January 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which if he does not attend would continue in his absence.

Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.

Yoon’s lawyers decried Friday’s arrest attempt as “unlawful and invalid” and vowed to take legal action.

Two top officials from Yoon’s presidential security service also refused a police request to appear for questioning on Saturday, citing the “serious nature” of protecting him, the service said in a statement sent to AFP.

Experts said investigators could wait for greater legal justification before arresting the suspended president again.

“It may be challenging to carry out the arrest until the Constitutional Court rules on the impeachment motion and strips him of the presidential title,” Chae Jin-won of Humanitas College at Kyung Hee University told AFP.

– ‘Stable path’ –

South Korean media reported that CIO officials had wanted to arrest Yoon and take him to their office in Gwacheon near Seoul for questioning.

After that, he could have been held for up to 48 hours on the existing warrant. Investigators would have needed to apply for another arrest warrant to keep him in custody.

Yoon has remained defiant and told his right-wing supporters this week he would fight “to the very end” for his political survival.

By the time investigators arrived to arrest Yoon, he had layered his presidential compound with hundreds of security forces to prevent it.

Around 20 investigators and 80 police officers were heavily outnumbered by around 200 soldiers and security personnel linking arms to block their way.

A tense six-hour standoff ensued until Friday afternoon when the investigators were forced to U-turn.

The investigators said in a statement on Friday they would ask Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who was installed as acting president a week ago, to back the warrant.

The weeks of political turmoil have threatened the country’s stability.

South Korea’s key security ally, the United States, called for the political elite to work towards a “stable path” forward.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to maintaining bilateral ties on Friday.

Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to hold talks in Seoul on Monday, with one eye on US-South Korea relations and another on nuclear-armed North Korea.

AFP

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Headline

19 Dead As Bangladesh Fighter Jet Crashes Into School

Published

5 hours ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

A Bangladeshi training fighter jet crashed into a school in the capital Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more in the country’s deadliest aviation accident in decades.

An AFP photographer at the scene saw fire and rescue officials taking away the injured students on stretchers, while military personnel helped clear the wreckage.

A military statement said 19 people were killed, including the pilot, and 20 others were critically wounded.

At least 51 people, mostly students, were undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, its director Mohammad Nasir Uddin told AFP.

The Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft crashed moments after students were let out of class at 1:00 pm (0700 GMT) at the Milestone School and College.

A witness said he heard a huge blast that felt like an earthquake.

“We have two playgrounds, one for the senior students and one for the juniors,” said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, who is enrolled at the school.

“We were on the playground for the seniors. There were two fighter planes… Suddenly one of the two planes crashed here (in the junior playground),” he told AFP.

“It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later.”

The interim government of Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday.

Grieving parents and relatives of the victims thronged the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute.

Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears on learning that his young cousin had been killed.

“We frantically searched for my cousin in different hospitals,” Hossain told AFP.

“He was an eighth grader at the school. Finally, we found his body.”

Yunus expressed “deep grief and sorrow” over the incident in a post on X.

“The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,” he said.

“This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.”

The crash was the worst aviation accident in the country in several decades.

The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board.

Last month, a commercial aircraft crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people.

Headline

S’African President Sacks Education Minister Accused Of Lying To Parliament

Published

5 hours ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Monday dismissed his embattled higher education minister, weeks after a key party in his unity government filed criminal charges accusing her of lying to parliament.

Ramaphosa has faced mounting pressure in recent months as several ministers from his African National Congress (ANC) party have been accused of corruption, deepening tensions within the 10-party ruling coalition.

The second largest group in government, the Democratic Alliance (DA), earlier this month filed a complaint accusing Minister Nobuhle Nkabane of lying to parliament to cover up the “fraudulent” appointment of ANC-linked figures to education authority boards.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed Dr Nobuhle Nkabane from the role of Minister and (sic) Higher Education and Training,” the presidency announced in a statement Monday night, after Nkabane failed to attend key parliamentary meetings where she was meant to clarify the controversial appointments.

The DA — which joined government after the ANC lost its majority last year due to voter disillusionment with corruption and mismanagement — has said graft had become “standard practice” under Ramaphosa’s rule.

It has also laid corruption charges against Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane over allegations of fraudulent billing to the national electricity supplier Eskom.

Ramaphosa also had to suspend his police minister on July 13, after bombshell accusations by a provincial police chief who alleged he had received payments from a corruption suspect and colluded with organised crime.

South Africa ranks 82nd in the world according to the corruption perception index of the NGO Transparency International.

AFP

Headline

Russia Strikes Ukraine After Kyiv Offers Fresh Talks

Published

14 hours ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

Russia fired a volley of drones and missiles at Ukraine early on Monday, hitting apartment blocks and a nursery in Kyiv, days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed holding a fresh round of peace talks.

Moscow has not responded to Zelensky’s call for new negotiations this week or an ultimatum by US President Donald Trump to make progress on a peace deal or face massive sanctions.

Two people were killed across the country, Zelensky said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot arrived in the capital, Kyiv, while rescuers were still sifting through the rubble.

Zelensky condemned the strikes as an “assault on humanity” and said at least 15 other people had been wounded in the attacks, including a 12-year-old boy.

Efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to the three-year war have stalled in recent weeks.

The two sides last met for direct negotiations more than a month ago in Istanbul.

They did not make any progress towards a ceasefire, instead agreeing to a series of prisoner exchanges.

Six districts of Kyiv came under attack on Monday, sparking fires at a supermarket, multiple residential buildings and a nursery, authorities said.

An AFP reporter saw damage to multiple buildings, as well as debris and shattered glass on streets.

Russia launched 450 drones and missiles in total, according to Ukraine’s air force.

The strikes also caused damage in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk and the eastern regions of Kharkiv and Sumy, according to Zelensky.

Meanwhile, travel chaos that began during the weekend continued in Russia, as Kyiv targeted Moscow with drones;

The attacks forced Vnukovo airport — a transport hub for the Russian government — to briefly suspend flights.

•⁠ ⁠Top French diplomat in Kyiv –

An entryway to the Lukyanivka metro station in Kyiv was also damaged by the overnight strikes.

French foreign minister Barrot condemned the attacks during a visit to the station.

“The shelters themselves are no longer entirely safe, as the metro station behind me, which is being used as a shelter for the people of Kyiv, has been targeted,” he said.

“This comes even as President Zelensky’s statement on Saturday morning, that showed Ukraine’s willingness to enter into new negotiations with Russia,” he added.

The European Union agreed on Friday an 18th package of sanctions on Moscow that targeted Russian banks and lowered a price cap on oil exports.

Barrot said the sanctions were aimed at increasing the cost of war for Russia to pressure President Vladimir Putin into negotiations.

The Kremlin said this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions.

At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.

Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions.

AFP