On the afternoon of December 10, local time, the Korean National Assembly passed a resolution to swiftly arrest Yoon Suk-yeol with 191 votes in favor, 94 votes against, and 3 abstentions. The investigation targets include Yoon Suk-yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Dong-kyun among 8 officials related to the 'martial law' order.
This also signifies that Yoon Suk-yeol will likely face a bad outcome. A prison sentence is probably unavoidable; if things get serious, he might not even be able to save his life. He has already been prohibited from leaving the country by the South Korean Ministry of Justice, leaving him with no chance to escape. However, it seems he won't be dealt with in the short term; after all, arresting him while he is still in office might be a bit too 'avant-garde.'
(Yoon Suk-yeol)
Previously, Yoon Suk-yeol announced via live television that South Korea was entering 'emergency martial law,' which can basically be confirmed as his last desperate counterattack. Unfortunately, it was forced to be lifted after just six hours, becoming a source of 'ridicule' in international news.
This farce undoubtedly refreshes the lower limits of the Korean political scene. Most opposition parties, minor parties, and even officials from the ruling party did not receive timely notification from Yoon Suk-yeol; they only found out by watching the news. In other words, Yoon Suk-yeol basically just had a chat with people from the Ministry of National Defense, like Kim Dong-kyun, and after they said it was fine, he just went ahead.
(Korean National Assembly)
With this drama unfolding, it has effectively torn the mask off nearly all politicians in Korea. Some Korean media even reported that Yoon Suk-yeol had attempted to arrest the leader of Korea's largest opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, and the leader of the ruling party, Han Dong-hoon, during the martial law period. This means he did not even leave himself any escape route when issuing the martial law order.
The result is that Yoon Suk-yeol has no prestige within the military; no one is willing to work for him. Members of the National Assembly are allowed to enter the parliament to vote, ultimately leading to the unanimous decision to lift the martial law.
(Yoon Suk-yeol with former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida)
Looking at Yoon Suk-yeol's governance history, his pro-American stance is a common practice in South Korea, nothing new to discuss. The key point is that he is not only pro-American but also extremely pro-Japanese, calling on South Koreans to abandon their hatred. When Japan was discharging nuclear wastewater, he didn’t dare to say anything, which caused dissatisfaction among almost all South Koreans.
This is equivalent to the fact that although Korea and Japan are both US allies, they were at least considered 'on the same level.' However, Yoon Suk-yeol's actions have reduced Korea to being a junior partner to Japan. How does this disparity in status affect their 'self-important' nation?
(Yoon Suk-yeol 'inspecting' public sentiment)
South Korea's prices have soared in recent years, yet Yoon Suk-yeol pointed at the price of green onions in stores and said, 'Isn’t this price reasonable?' This ultimately triggered the opposition party and South Korean citizens to mock Yoon Suk-yeol with bundles of green onions, leading him to order a ban on voters bringing green onions into polling stations during the National Assembly elections.
Afterward, the classic moment arrived: the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law' completely ignited the conflict between Yoon Suk-yeol and major opposition parties in South Korea. He exercised his presidential veto three times to protect Kim Geon-hee. The opposition, leveraging their majority in the National Assembly, retaliated against the budget proposal next year.
(Former Korean Defense Minister Kim Dong-kyun)
It seems Yoon Suk-yeol thinks that since things have reached this point, it can't get much worse. He might as well take a gamble; after all, what if a bicycle turns into a motorcycle, right? So he and Kim Dong-kyun discussed it, and then... there was no further development. Currently, even his own ruling party is too lazy to support him.
Although the impeachment motion was not passed a few days ago, this does not mean that the ruling party supports Yoon Suk-yeol; rather, they are unwilling to easily relinquish their position of power. In fact, they have already planned to suspend him.
(Blue House curse)
According to reports, the ruling party in South Korea stated on the 10th that they would push for Yoon Suk-yeol's resignation in early next year and initiate early elections. Meanwhile, the opposition party stated that they would continue to launch impeachment motions against Yoon Suk-yeol until the impeachment motion passes in the National Assembly.
Yoon Suk-yeol is feeling the pressure; he has clearly moved out of the Blue House, yet this curse continues to follow him, even with a long-range attack, right? Now it seems, congratulations to Moon Jae-in for continuing to be the only South Korean president in history who has not faced any reckoning.
