Arrest warrant sought for leader of top opposition party for first time in history of Korea’s constitutional government
Posted on : Feb.17, 2023 Hankyoreh
The warrant is being sought on charges of breach of duty and bribery and other suspicions during Lee Jae-myung’s tenure as mayor of Seongnam
"For the first time in Korea’s modern history, prosecutors have sought an arrest warrant for the chairperson of the main opposition party."
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1078690.html
The case is bogus and obviously politically motivated. As a sitting National Assembly member, a majority of National Assembly representatives have to approve an arrest warrant of any sitting member. Indications from the Democratic Party suggest that isn't going to happen. After a fishing expedition involving hundreds of warrants, nitpicking prosecution investigators are trying to cobble together a case. They have been trying to convict Lee Jae-myung of something, anything for years. He went through a series of trials on unrelated charges before the presidential campaign in which he was the candidate opposing Yoon, and he was found not guilty.
At an earlier trial of alleged Daejangdong co-conspirators, nothing in the evidence adduced in court implicated Lee. A lawyer for one arrested witness, Jeong Jin-san, came forward yesterday, and alleged his client was questioned improperly outside his presence, and offered inducements and threats by prosecutors to produce desired testimony (to implicate Lee). The recent statements of other alleged co-conspirators has changed and is incconsistent with their prior trial testimony. If democrats haven't learned their lesson from the persecution of former Minister of Justice Cho Guk and the destruction of his family by politically motivated prosecutors, it is likely Yoon will achieve arbitrary dictatorial rule.
I picked my post's title before I saw this editorial:
[Editorial] An unprecedented arrest warrant request that will spark a political black hole This development has already sparked fierce battles in the political world, giving rise to concerns that the people’s livelihoods will be put on the back burner Hankyoreh Feb.17,2023
...Above all, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that investigation by prosecutors will be used as a means of political oppression, seeing that the subject of their arrest warrant is the leader of the main opposition party. This is why the Constitution states that “no member of the National Assembly shall be arrested or detained without the consent of the National Assembly” during session, and why more caution should be taken so as to not raise questions about the appropriateness and context of the warrant request.
This development has already sparked fierce battles in the political world. Lee stated that “today is the day that the rule of law has collapsed in the ruling party’s attempt to get rid of their political opponents,” while the ruling People Power Party stated that “this was something bound to happen” and pushed for the approval of the arrest motion.
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/1080169.html
Lee Jae-myung, “You Must Ask a Fortune Teller or Prosecutor Before Making Policy Decisions, Otherwise You Will Be Sent to Prison”
By Tak Ji-young Kyunghyang Sinmoon 2.17
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=202302171359537&code=710100&utm_source=livere&utm_medium=social_share
This is a reference to the Yoon receiving guidance from the guru Cheon Gong, the leader of a South Korean cult. The relationship is regarded as an abuse of power by Yoon and disputed. Allegedly, a witness to Cheon Gong's interference in official affairs is the former Chief of Staff of the ROK Army. This is according to an independent media source and a book author.
South Korean defence minister denies Vietnam War massacres
Minister said the court ruling dishonoured South Korean soldiers by finding them responsible for the massacre of Vietnamese villagers
Al Jazeera 2.17 (AP)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/17/south-korean-defence-minister-denies-vietnam-war-massacres
This is sort of back handed way of letting Japan off the hook for its war crimes. In any case, Yoon is an admirer of former dictator Chun Doo-won, who was in Vietnam with the White Horse division. It's a facile way to appeal to veterans and the pro-Japanese faction whose forebears benefited from Japanese collaboration during the colonial period and subsequent South Korean dictatorships.
Celebration of Japanese emperor's birthday in Seoul met with protest : 2023-02-17
Korea Times 2.17 Lee Hyo-jin
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/02/281_345653.html?utm_source=tw
A reception held in Seoul to celebrate the Japanese Emperor's birthday has raised eyebrows, especially after it was reported that the Japanese national anthem ― which is widely considered a symbol of Japan's militaristic past here ― was played during the event.
Hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, the reception took place at a hotel on Thursday, ahead of the emperor's birthday on Feb. 23. Among the guests who showed up were Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon and Sohn Kyung-sik, chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation...
...Japanese media reported that until now, Tokyo has refrained from playing the anthem, acknowledging the anti-Japan sentiment in Korea. But it decided to play it this year due to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's recent moves to improve bilateral ties.
Not suprisingly, today's candlelight demostration opposing the Yoon administration characterized Yoon as a pro-Japanese traitor in addition to criticizing his administration as a dictatorship led by Yoon's prosecutors. The candlelight movement procession assembled near Namdaemun and marched to Samgachi Plaza, near the Yongsan base where the Presidential Office is located. Yoon had refused to move into the Blue House, on the advice of his wife and allegedly, the cult leader Cheon Gong. The theme of today's assembly was "Let's topple Yoon Seok-yeol." The numbers appeared significant, as police appeared to have difficulty restricting the crowd due to its size and as the day went on, it appeared they were only capable of keeping one lane of traffic open around the massive crowd. I've become accustomed to seeing large numbers of police, barricades, and/or police buses forcing the crowd to one side of main boulevards and keeping at least two lanes of traffic open in both directions. I think because of restrictions on drone flights in Seoul and lack of access to nearby high rises, high angle shots which would give a greater sense of crowd size are not available.
During the demonstration, the organizers claimed there were supporting demonstrations in Tokyo, LA, New York and Maryland. Those in the Tokyo demonstration appeared to be ethnic Koreans and were small in number. I didn't see reports of these supporting demos in the US.
A couple of anti-Yoon, anti Kim Gon-hee cartoons exhibited during the demonstration below in the first image. Kim Gon-hee as Marie Antoinette giving Yoon his homework (left) and Kim Gon-hee as nanny pushing an infantile pro-Japanese Yoon.
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