South Korean president indicted on insurrection charges after martial law declaration
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(SEOUL) — South Korean prosecutors formally indicted President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday, charging him with insurrection over his brief imposition of martial law in December, according to opposition lawmakers and South Korean media.
“The prosecution has decided to indict Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing charges of being a ringleader of insurrection,” Democratic Party spokesman Han Min-soo told a press conference, Reuters reported. “The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally.”
Yoon had declared martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3. The president said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government. A South Korean court issued an arrest and search warrant on Dec. 31.
The indictment follows Yoon’s arrest ten days ago, when South Korean prosecutors finally succeeded in forcing him to surrender at his residence after a prolonged stand-off with his presidential bodyguard.
Yoon has previously pledged to fight the charges. He has been suspended from his position since Dec. 14.
(SEOUL and LONDON) — South Korea’s dominant opposition party moved on Wednesday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, submitting a motion a day after his declaration of martial law set off a night of political chaos.
The opposition Democratic Party’s motion to impeach Yoon is expected to make its way through the National Assembly in the coming days, with a vote likely either Friday or Saturday. The measure would require a two-thirds majority to pass, and would then be sent to South Korea’s Constitutional Court, which would have to approve the motion.
Lawmakers and members of South Korea’s main opposition party had earlier on Wednesday gathered in Seoul to call for Yoon’s resignation.
“If President Yoon does not step down immediately, we will immediately begin impeachment proceedings in accordance with the will of the people,” the Democratic Party had said in a statement. “We will fight to the end together with all the people to protect the democracy and constitutional order of the Republic of Korea.”
As he declared martial law in a televised speech late Tuesday, the president said the measure would be necessary due to the actions of the Democratic Party, a liberal coalition that Yoon accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.
The declaration included banning political activities, including rallies and protests. Yoon also called for a stop to the “dissemination of fake news” and the manipulation of public opinion. All press would have been controlled by the state under the declaration.
The move sparked protests and — just hours after the declaration — the National Assembly voted early Wednesday morning to demand that the president lift the martial law order. A majority of parliament voted to lift the decree requiring that it then be lifted, under the South Korean constitution.
Following the National Assembly’s vote, Yoon said he withdrew the troops that had been deployed to carry out martial law and “will lift martial law as soon as we have a quorum in the cabinet.” The State Council then convened to vote to officially lift it.
Presidential Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok and nine other senior presidential secretaries announced their resignations, the South Korean presidential office told reporters Wednesday morning.
A member of the conservative People Power Party, Yoon began his five-year term in May 2022 after wining office by a razor-thin margin.
A political newcomer before his election, Yoon had spent his entire career as a prosecutor, rising to prominence by prosecuting big political players, including President Park Geun Hye, who was impeached and removed from office in 2017.
Yoon was meeting on Wednesday afternoon with South Korea’s top political leaders in his office, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Democratic Party organized a candlelight vigil in support of Yoon’s impeachment on the steps of the National Assembly on Wednesday night.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Joe Simonetti, Dave Brennan and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet on Tuesday and hold a vote on a cease-fire deal that could end more than a year of fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border, an Israeli official told ABC News. The cabinet is expected to approve the U.S.-brokered deal.
Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah launches continued regardless. Airstrikes again rocked the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiya on Tuesday, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting “large scale” attacks on the area shortly after issuing multiple evacuation orders. Another IDF strike hit a building in the central Basta neighborhood, which was also subject to an massive airstrike on Saturday.
The IDF reported at least 250 projectiles fired into Israel on Monday, with Hezbollah claiming multiple cross-border attacks on Israeli targets on Tuesday morning.
An Israeli source with knowledge of the deal’s details told ABC News that the 60-day cease-fire would see all Israeli forces withdraw from Lebanon in phases, with Hezbollah retreating beyond the Litani River around 18 miles north of the Israeli border.
Lebanese Armed Forces troops — with assistance from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — will deploy to the south of the country to ensure that Hezbollah does not re-enter the area between the Israeli border and the Litani, the source said.
The U.S. will provide oversight on Hezbollah’s withdrawal and will also head a committee — joined by French and Arab partners — to monitor and verify the implementation of the cease-fire, the Israeli source added.
The cease-fire would be expected to come into force shortly after the agreement is announced — as early as Wednesday morning. The two Israeli sources involved in the talks who spoke with ABC News said the proposal has near-unanimous agreement from the security cabinet, though far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is expected to vote against it. His opposition will not torpedo the deal.
A parallel U.S.-Israeli agreement, though, suggests that any deal will not necessarily mean an end to all fighting.
The Israeli source with knowledge of the deal said the U.S. has pledged support for Israel’s right to strike anywhere in Lebanon against “critical” or “immediate” threats from Hezbollah or other militant groups.
Still, the possible cease-fire deal would be a major diplomatic achievement after nearly 14 months of war and almost 4,000 total deaths — the vast majority Lebanese — on both sides of the shared border.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have fled their homes in the north of the country, while a quarter of Lebanon’s population — around 1.2 million people — have been put under IDF evacuation orders.
U.S. officials have hinted at progress but refused to confirm details of any deal.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists at a Monday briefing that the outcome of the talks is “up to the parties, not to us.”
“We don’t believe we have an agreement yet,” Miller said. “We believe we’re close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly, but there are still steps that we need to see taken, but we hope — we hope that we can get there.”
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby was similarly cautious. “We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction,” he told reporters Monday.
“But again, nothing is done until everything is done. Nothing’s all negotiated till everything is negotiated. And you know, we need to keep at the work to see it through so that we can actually get the ceasefire for which we’ve been working for for so long and so hard.”
ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Joe Simonetti, Ghazi Balkiz, Joe Simonetti, Chris Boccia and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
Rescuers of the State Emergency Service work to put out a fire in a private house after a drone strike in Kharkiv, on December 25, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukrainians faced fresh Russian drone and missile strikes on energy infrastructure nationwide on Tuesday night into Christmas Day morning, with the energy minister in Kyiv warning of immediate power cuts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, “Every Russian massive strike takes time to prepare. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a conscious choice not only of targets, but also of time and date.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said, “deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and more than a hundred strike drones. The targets are our energy sector. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”
“According to preliminary data, our defenders managed to shoot down more than 50 missiles and a significant part of the drones,” Zelenskyy said. “Unfortunately, there are hits. As of now, there are outages in several regions. Energy workers are working to restore the power supply as soon as possible.”
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 78 missiles of various types into the country, of which 59 were shot down. Russia also launched 106 strike drones, of which 54 were shot down and 52 were lost in flight, the air force added.
“The enemy attacks energy again massively,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote in a statement posted to Facebook early Wednesday. Grid operators, he added, were implementing “necessary consumption restriction measures to minimize negative consequences for the energy system.”
When the security situation allows, “the power companies will specify the damage caused,” Galushchenko added. “Stay tuned for official announcements. While the danger lasts — stay in shelters!”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement posted to X, “This Christmas terror is Putin’s response to those who spoke about illusionary ‘Christmas ceasefire’.”
“One Russian missile passed Moldovan and Romanian airspace, reminding that Russia threatens not only Ukraine,” Sybiha added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement posted to Telegram that it “carried out a massive strike with long-range precision weapons and strike drones on critical energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex.”
“The strike’s goal was achieved,” the ministry said. “All facilities were hit.”
The ministry said its forces also shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight.
This year is the second in which Ukraine will officially celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. Previously, many Ukrainians celebrated Christmas in January per the Orthodox calendar, as Russian Orthodox adherents still do.
“For the second time, we celebrate Christmas on the same date as one big family, one country,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Tuesday. “For the second time in modern history, Christmas unites all Ukrainians.”
“Today, we stand side by side, and we will not be lost,” Zelenskyy added. “In person, from afar, or in our hearts — Ukrainians are together today. And as long as we do this, evil has no chance.”
