{"id":150,"date":"2025-06-03T00:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/s4q7jq2n.top\/index.php\/2025\/06\/03\/south-koreas-six-months-of-political-chaos\/"},"modified":"2025-06-03T00:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:13:11","slug":"south-koreas-six-months-of-political-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/03\/south-koreas-six-months-of-political-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea's six months of political chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The vote caps months of high political drama marked by impeachments, scandal and even violence.<\/p>\n

Here is a recap of events:<\/p>\n

December 3: martial law<\/p>\n

After a budget tussle with the opposition, Yoon takes to television to declare martial law in a flashback to South Korea’s authoritarian past.<\/p>\n

Armed troops head to parliament, scaling fences, smashing windows and landing by helicopter in an apparent bid to stop lawmakers from overturning the decree.<\/p>\n

As thousands of protesters gather outside, lawmakers vote 190-0 to nullify Yoon’s declaration in the early hours of December 4.<\/p>\n

Soldiers begin withdrawing and Yoon reappears on television and lifts martial law. Protesters celebrate. Yoon goes to ground.<\/p>\n

December 4: impeachment plan<\/p>\n

The opposition immediately vows to push for impeachment and file an official motion. <\/p>\n

They file separate complaints of “insurrection” against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers, prompting a police probe.<\/p>\n

December 14: Yoon impeached<\/p>\n

On a second attempt, enough lawmakers vote to impeach Yoon, suspending him from office.<\/p>\n

South Korea’s Constitutional Court is given six months to deliberate on the vote.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo becomes the nation’s acting leader.<\/p>\n

December 27: second impeachment<\/p>\n

Lawmakers impeach acting president Han over what the opposition says is his refusal to sign into law special bills to investigate Yoon.<\/p>\n

Finance minister Choi Sang-mok takes over.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, investigators are trying to summon Yoon for questioning over criminal charges of insurrection.<\/p>\n

December 30: arrest warrant<\/p>\n

Investigators apply for an arrest warrant for Yoon after he fails to report for questioning.<\/p>\n

Days later, they make the first attempt in the country’s history to forcibly detain a sitting president.<\/p>\n

But his security team blocks the attempt as hundreds of Yoon’s supporters rally outside his compound.<\/p>\n

January 14: impeachment trial<\/p>\n

The Constitutional Court opens Yoon’s impeachment trial, kicking off what will become a total of 11 hearings over the following weeks.<\/p>\n

January 15: Yoon detained<\/p>\n

Using ladders to get into his residence, investigators finally arrest Yoon.<\/p>\n

The suspended president has his mug shot taken and undergoes a physical check as he spends his first night in jail as a criminal suspect.<\/p>\n

January 18: Yoon’s warrant extended<\/p>\n

The Seoul Western District Court issues a formal arrest warrant extending Yoon’s detention, citing concerns he may destroy evidence.<\/p>\n

The decision enrages Yoon’s supporters, some of whom attack the court building, smashing windows and throwing glass bottles. <\/p>\n

March 8: Yoon released<\/p>\n

The suspended president is released from detention after a court voids his arrest on procedural grounds.<\/p>\n

March 24: Han reinstated<\/p>\n

Han is reinstated as acting president by the Constitutional Court after it rules against his impeachment. <\/p>\n

– April 4: Yoon dismissed-<\/p>\n

The Constitutional Court unanimously rules to dismiss Yoon, triggering fresh presidential elections set for June 3.<\/p>\n

April 27: Lee named opposition candidate<\/p>\n

The country’s main opposition Democratic Party names former leader Lee Jae-myung as its presidential candidate. <\/p>\n

Lee, who lost the 2022 presidential elections to Yoon by the narrowest margin of any vote in the country’s history, vows to “punish all forces tied to the martial law”.<\/p>\n

May 1: resignations<\/p>\n

Acting president Han resigns to “take on a greater responsibility” — hinting at an upcoming bid for the presidency.<\/p>\n

Finance minister Choi is poised to assume the acting presidency but resigns as opposition MPs introduce an impeachment motion against him.<\/p>\n

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho becomes acting president.<\/p>\n

May 3: Conservatives nominate Kim Moon-soo<\/p>\n

The People Power Party’s names former labour minister Kim Moon-soo as presidential candidate. <\/p>\n

He vows to win “no matter what”.<\/p>\n

June 3: election<\/p>\n

The country votes.<\/p>\n

Major polls place Lee Jae-myung as the clear frontrunner, with Kim Moon-soo trailing by at least 10 points.<\/p>\n

Whoever wins will take office on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

burs-hs\/oho\/ceb\/cms\/hmn<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2025 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seoul (AFP) \u2013 <\/span> South Koreans go to the polls on Tuesday in a snap election after ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and stripped of office over his abortive martial law declaration. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Issued on: 03\/06\/2025 – 02:13<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/span> 3 min Reading time<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"South<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-db"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloudfclub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}