South Korea

Politics

Police and anti-corruption investigators arrested South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence on the morning of Jan. 15 on suspicion of committing an insurrection during his Dec. 3-4 martial law declaration, KBS reported the same day. 

South Korea: President Yoon Arrested as Political Grandstanding Continues

Military & Security

Seoul police and investigators from South Korea's anti-corruption body met to discuss methods for their second arrest attempt against President Yoon Suk Yeol, Yonhap News reported on Jan. 14.

South Korea: Second Attempt to Arrest President Yoon Imminent

Economics

South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok said the government was open to restarting talks with striking doctors, including negotiating the medical school recruitment quota for 2026 "from a zero basis," Yonhap News Agency reported on Jan. 10.

South Korea: Government To Start From Scratch in Doctors' Strike Talks

Acting President Choi Sang-mok urged South Korean authorities to avoid injuring citizens and causing violent clashes while carrying out an arrest warrant against President Yoon Suk Yeol, Reuters reported on Jan. 8.

South Korea: Clash While Arresting Yoon Would Worsen Political Instability

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Taiwan asked South Korea to assist in investigating a Chinese-owned cargo ship suspected of cutting an underwater sea cable on Taiwan's north coast on Jan. 3, The Financial Times reported on Jan. 5.

Taiwan: Chinese Vessel Suspected of Sea Cable Incident

South Korea's finance ministry announced measures to bolster the economy amid "external and internal uncertainty," with one such measure allowing foreign financial institutions to use foreign exchange trading for import and export settlement, Nikkei Asia reported on Jan. 2.

South Korea: New Measures Unlikely to Boost Investment, Consumer Confidence

Acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two justices to South Korea's shorthanded Constitutional Court, upping the number of judges on the bench from six to eight, with one vacancy remaining, Yonhap News Agency reported Dec. 31.

South Korea: Acting President Appoints Two Constitutional Court Justices

Suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol became the first sitting president in South Korean history to face arrest as the Seoul Western District Court issued a warrant for his detention on insurrection and treason charges in connection with his abortive Dec. 3 martial law gambit, Yonhap News Agency reported on Dec. 31.

South Korea: Arrest Warrant Issued for Suspended President

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U.S. President Joe Biden gestures to reporters after landing on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. 

U.S.-China Relations

Trump's more aggressive and transactional approach could deliver quick wins for the U.S.'s position in the region, though it could also strain ties with key partners. 

Trump's Asia-Pacific Approach Will Test Biden's Gains

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Security personnel walk on a road with buses blocking an entrance gate to protect impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from a possible second arrest in Seoul on Jan. 6. If Yoon is not arrested, the opposition could again seek to impeach the country's acting president due to his insufficient support for the arrest efforts, worsening foreign perceptions of political instability in South Korea.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Mozambique's President Takes Office, the U.K. Chancellor Visits China

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How do demographic trends impact military power?

Applied Geopolitics: Demographic Decline and Military Manpower: Understanding the Shifting Role of Troops in Conflict

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Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro waits for the arrival of other heads of state of members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America regional trading bloc during the XXIV ALBA-TCP Summit in Caracas, Venezuela, on Dec. 14, 2024. 

The Weekly Rundown: Inaugurations in Ghana and Venezuela, Yoon's Potential Arrest in South Korea

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a news broadcast on a television at a train station in Seoul on Dec. 3, 2024, after Yoon declared emergency martial law.

Despite lawmakers voting to impeach the president, there is still ample room for more political tumult in the months ahead, keeping South Korea's economic and foreign policy trajectory in limbo.

Yoon's Impeachment Opens a New Chapter in South Korea's Saga of Political Instability

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A sign reading ''leader of insurgents'' on a photo of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's face is held up during a protest calling for Yoon's ouster in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 8, 2024. 

The Weekly Rundown: Putin's Annual Press Conference, Another Impeachment Vote in South Korea

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol declares martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea. 

Legal, social and political pressures will likely still force Yoon out of office in the coming months, bringing a liberal president to power who would pursue pro-labor policies and reorient South Korea's foreign relations.

South Korea's President Yoon Not Impeached, but His End Is Nigh

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Protesters call for the ouster of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 6, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Vote in South Korea, Syria's Government Wavers

People gather in front of the main gate of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea on Dec. 4, 2024, after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law. 

The president's brief gambit will likely stall his agenda and eventually lead to his departure, giving rise to an opposition more skeptical of U.S. and Japanese defense ties.

South Korea's Yoon Quickly Scraps Martial Law Order, but the Political Damage Has Been Done

South Korean marines participate in joint exercises with U.S. forces Sept. 2 in Pohang, South Korea. Japan and South Korea set the blueprint for how militaries must contend with stiff competition for human resources.

Japan and South Korea set the blueprint for how militaries must contend with stiff competition for human resources.

Demographic Decline and Military Manpower: Understanding the Shifting Role of People in Conflict

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attends the third session of the G-20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 19, 2024.

Multiple political disputes could see Yoon start stretching the limits of his power as his term winds down, pushing anti-union activity and arms exports.

In South Korea, Political Clashes Limit the President's Room To Maneuver

North Korea

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of North Korea's artillery firing, at a railway station in Seoul on Jan. 6, 2024.

With both sides threatening overwhelming retaliation and having greater capabilities to make good on those threats, provocations along the North-South border now carry a greater risk of erupting into military clashes.

The Rising Risk of Military Clashes on the Korean Peninsula

The Republic of Korea, also called South Korea, occupies the southern half of a peninsula that juts out of the Asian mainland toward Japan. The country shares its only land border with North Korea, which it also borders in the Yellow and East seas. It shares maritime borders with Japan to the east and China to the west. South Koreas primary geographic challenges are overcoming internal fractures to maintain cohesion, and securing its maritime sphere and its southwest lowland pockets from its more powerful neighbors.    The ancient kingdoms of Baekje and Silla occupied the distinct geographic pockets of the southern peninsula, standing in contrast to a more unified space where North Korea now sits. The Taebaek mountains run along much of South Korea's eastern coast, largely protecting the country from invasion by sea from this direction. These mountain ranges provide a level of protection to the peninsula's most vulnerable feature: a north-south corridor of lowlands and hills along the west coast. This coast (as well as much of South Korea's southern coastline) is protected from easy landing by countless islands, mudflats and tidal rips.     However, the Nakdong River valley at Pusan offers a point of incursion to would-be invaders. From here, they can pass over the lower elevations of the Sobaek Mountains and onward to the western core. This has been the gateway for those seeking to control the peninsula, from the failed 16th century invasions of Japanese Daimyō Toyotomi Hideyoshi to the Japanese empire's later efforts in the 19th century. A North Korean invasion in 1950 (repelled by U.N. forces defending the Pusan Perimeter) highlights another key vulnerability for South Korea: the potential for incursions from the north via the western coastal strip. To hedge against aggression from all directions, South Korea is focused on securing its maritime space, particularly in the south and west. The country has prioritized its possession of Jeju Island in the Jeju Strait and has in the past held claims to Tsushima Island. Disputes with China over the Socotra Rock in the Yellow Sea and with Japan over Dokdo in the East Sea are also important elements of South Korea's overall maritime strategy.     The Korean Peninsula's historic policy of isolation was one way of remaining out of the crosshairs of its neighbors, but it has also aligned itself with rival powers throughout its history. Most recently, South Korea has used a third party — the United States — to maintain balance against neighbors that threaten it from sea and land. 

SITUATION REPORTS

South Korea: President Yoon Arrested as Political Grandstanding Continues

South Korea: Second Attempt to Arrest President Yoon Imminent

South Korea: Government To Start From Scratch in Doctors' Strike Talks

South Korea: Clash While Arresting Yoon Would Worsen Political Instability

Taiwan: Chinese Vessel Suspected of Sea Cable Incident

South Korea: New Measures Unlikely to Boost Investment, Consumer Confidence

South Korea: Acting President Appoints Two Constitutional Court Justices

South Korea: Arrest Warrant Issued for Suspended President

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