Man, what is going on in South Korea?

[The Duke]

Okay so, their leader Yoon was ousted on the 14th I guess because he tried to declare Martial Law, and now they're
ousting the Acting leader Han Duck Soo, too.
I feel like whatever's going on there can't be Democratic or good.

MSN

www.msn.com

Also now I'm wondering if Jack Soo was Korean.

 

[martybegan]

Okay so, their leader Yoon was ousted on the 14th I guess because he tried to declare Martial Law, and now they're
ousting the Acting leader Han Duck Soo, too.
I feel like whatever's going on there can't be Democratic or good.

MSN

www.msn.com

Also now I'm wondering if Jack Soo was Korean.

South Korea has a longer history of coups, strongmen, and political instability than democratic principles and stability.

This will only be allowed to go so far before the Army decides to step in.

 

[The Duke]

South Korea has a longer history of coups, strongmen, and political instability than democratic principles and stability.

This will only be allowed to go so far before the Army decides to step in.

To me it looks like commies are just coup-ing it up over there.

 

[Auld Phart]

Okay so, their leader Yoon was ousted on the 14th I guess because he tried to declare Martial Law, and now they're
ousting the Acting leader Han Duck Soo, too.
I feel like whatever's going on there can't be Democratic or good.

MSN

www.msn.com

Also now I'm wondering if Jack Soo was Korean.

"A genial, laid back, slumber-eyed character player especially adept at the relaxed wisecrack or dry comment, Japanese-American actor Jack Soo was born in Oakland, California, in 1917, "

 

[martybegan]

To me it looks like commies are just coup-ing it up over there.

Even the lefty South Koreans want nothing to do with North style communism.

This is par for the course for SK politics, the media is just playing it up because Trump is going back into office in a month and it's something they can blame him for eventually.

 

[sparky]

Isn't that what they do....? ~S~

 

[1srelluc]

 

[The Duke]

Is that who they're going to install?

 

[The Duke]

Wow, tensions are high there.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-acting-president-faces-impeachment-vote-court-meets-martial-law-2024-12-26/

Also:

 

[The Duke]

"A genial, laid back, slumber-eyed character player especially adept at the relaxed wisecrack or dry comment, Japanese-American actor Jack Soo was born in Oakland, California, in 1917, "

Damn, 1917!
He did pretty good for his age.

 

[Auld Phart]

Damn, 1917!
He did pretty good for his age.

he was 61 when he died. not all that old.

 

[DGS49]

There is an American conceit that the people around the world are, "just like us," except for a few fine details.

They are not.

Korea accepts a mountain of interrelationships between big corporations and government that we in the U.S. would consider massive corruption.

It is important for the U.S. to just stay the hell out of it, like the prosecution of Netanyahu in Israel.

 

[Ringo]

South Korean democracy under strict U.S. supervision is relentlessly evolving: while previous presidents were jailed for theft immediately after their resignation, a local court has now issued an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state for the first time.

 

[ThirdTerm]

South Korea was a dictatorship until the 1990s, when the IMF intervened to democratize South Korea. To get the IMF bailout, South Korea had to accept the IMF's regimen for structural reforms, which westernized the country's economic system. Since the economic crisis, Korea has implemented many institutional and policy reforms in line with its agreement with the IMF. But politically, it is still a banana republic being run for the exclusive profit of chaebols or oligarchs.

 

[Unkotare]

Loading…

www.reuters.com

 

[The Duke]

Loading…

www.reuters.com

Holy crap, man. This is crazy!

 

[Unkotare]

Things are really crazy there these days. South Korean politics have always been - complicated, but this is bad. Gotta worry about North Korea taking all this as a sign that they might have an opportunity.

 

[The Duke]

Things are really crazy there these days.

It's definitely something to keep an eye on. I hope things go OK over there.

The Korea Times

Get the latest on what's happening in Korea from the nation’s top English-language media outlet.

www.koreatimes.co.kr

 

[Picaro]

Jack Soo was born on a ship coming to the U.S. from Japan. He grew up in Oakland. Ca. He was a singer. Died of throat cancer, from smoking.

 

[Picaro]

South Korean politics has always been weird.

Why Are South Korean Politics So Messy?

Exploring the six enduring features of Korean politics.

thediplomat.com

The global ripple effects of South Korea’s political turmoil

The fallout from Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment could have massive implications for Seoul’s relations with the United States and Japan.

www.atlanticcouncil.org

Nor is martial law unknown in South Korea. The country experienced it under the control of Park Chung-hee in the 1970s. Then, the South Korean people fought with blood, sweat, and tears to institute a true democracy. It’s under this context, with martial law in the living memory of many in the country, that South Korea was galvanized to call for impeachment for an already massively unpopular Yoon. South Koreans are very protective of their democracy, and Yoon’s attempt at martial law drew comparisons to the authoritarian Park Chung-hee government, especially since Yoon’s first move after the martial law declaration was seemingly to block the National Assembly from voting to end it. This move was undoubtedly one step too far for the South Korean public and the calls for impeachment were a statement from the population that they will not take a threat to the democratic process lightly.