World

South Korea plans arrest of impeached President Yoon Yeol

Published

2 weeks ago

January 7, 2025 8:34 am

BodexNG

South Korean anti-graft investigators were holding on Tuesday for a new court-ordered arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose failed martial law bid threw the country into turmoil.

The former star prosecutor has refused questioning three times over a bungled martial law decree last month which plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.

As anti-graft officials seek a new warrant from the same court that issued the first order, Yoon remains holed up in his residence surrounded by hundreds of guards preventing his detention.

“The Joint Investigation Headquarters today refiled a warrant with the Seoul Western District Court to extend the arrest warrant for defendant Yoon,” the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) said in a statement late Monday.

“Details regarding the validity period cannot be disclosed”, the CIO added after the initial seven-day warrant expired.

If investigators can detain Yoon, he would become the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested.

There was no comment by investigators or the Seoul court on the new warrant being approved by Tuesday afternoon.

However, CIO deputy director Lee Jae-Seung told reporters earlier on Tuesday that the likelihood the court would not grant an extension was “very low.”

Yoon is being investigated on charges of insurrection and, if formally arrested and convicted, faces prison or, at worst, the death penalty.

His lawyers repeatedly said the initial warrant was “unlawful”, pledging to take further legal action against it.

Yoon’s lawyers have argued the CIO lacks the authority to investigate, because insurrection is not included in the list of offences it can probe.

But the likelihood for the reissued warrant to be accepted was “quite high,” said Yun Bok-Nam, president of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, who is not involved in the investigation.

But it may take longer than expected for the warrant to be issued again.

“In the previous instance, it took quite a long time — almost a day and a half,” Yun told AFP.

The CIO is a relatively new force — nearly four years old — with fewer than 100 staff who have yet to prosecute a single case.

“Naturally, they have no prior experience with arrests, let alone something as significant as arresting the president,” Yun said.

“The cooperation of the police is essential”, he added, through the Joint Investigation Headquarters umbrella under which both forces are currently working together.

The country’s opposition Democratic Party said Monday it would submit a legal complaint against acting president Choi Sang-mok for “dereliction of duty” after it asked him to intervene in the case and he did not.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has slated January 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which would proceed in his absence if he does not attend.

Local media reported the suspended leader is likely to appear on the trial’s opening day, but Yoon’s lawyer told AFP his appearance on that date was still “undecided”.

The court has up to 180 days to determine whether to dismiss Yoon as president or restore his powers.

Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials in 2004 and 2016-2017 respectively.

Investigators struggled to arrest Yoon because of a sizable force of guards massed at his home to protect him.

His presidential security service refused to budge during a tense six-hour standoff at his residence on Friday, forcing investigators into a U-turn.

Many of his supporters have also camped outside his residence despite freezing weather.

However, with no warrant active on Tuesday, the scene was calmer on the streets outside, with protests appearing to lull before any further attempt to arrest Yoon.

World

Trump’s official portrait sparks mixed reactions on social media

Published

5 days ago

January 17, 2025 9:58 am

BodexNG

The official portrait of the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has been unveiled.

Daniel Torok, the president-elect’s chief photographer, shared the photo in an X post on Thursday alongside that of Vice-President-elect JD Vance.

“We are entering the GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!” Torok captioned the starkly contrasting photos of Trump and Vance.

As Vance struck a relaxed pose, smiling for the camera, Trump opted for a stern, unyielding stare.

The brightly lit photo is also a departure from his 2017 portrait where he smiled warmly.

The president-elect’s stare closely mirrored his mugshot after leaving jail in 2023.

In the mugshot, the 78-year-old stared menacingly at the camera with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw.

He was the first US former president to have their mugshot taken.

The photograph sparked a fundraising bonanza, appearing on t-shirts and mugs. It soon became the physical characterisation of Trump as a politically motivated prosecuted victim.

Trump’s transition team said the official photographs “go hard.” The pair will be sworn in on Monday.

Social media users had mixed reactions to the presidential pose.

World

UK approves first vertical rocket launch

Published

5 days ago

January 16, 2025 3:41 pm

BodexNG

The first vertical launch of a rocket into orbit from European soil could take place from the UK’s most northerly point this year after a German company won approval for spaceflight, regulators announced Thursday.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it had granted a launch licence to Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), allowing it to send a rocket into space from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland’s Shetland Islands.

“This is a new era for aerospace and granting the first vertical launch licence from UK soil builds towards a historic milestone for the nation,” said CAA CEO Rob Bishton.

“This licence is the culmination of extensive hard work behind the scenes to put appropriate safety and environmental measures in place before launch,” he added.

It is the final large regulatory step allowing Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) to launch from on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.

Jorn Spurmann, co-founder and chief commercial officer of RFA, called it a “groundbreaking moment for RFA and for Europe’s space industry.

“Securing the first-ever launch license outside European Space Agency’s established site in Kourou (French Guiana) is not just a regulatory milestone -– it’s a powerful endorsement of our technical excellence and a turning point for European space innovation,” he added.

“By enabling cost-effective and flexible launches from European main land, we are laying the foundation for a new era of space exploration and commercialization, ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of the global space race,” he added.

The CAA had already granted the privately-owned SaxaVord a spaceport licence and a range control licence.

RFA hopes to carry out the first test flight of its 30 metre-tall (100 feet) three-stage rocket, which can deliver a 1,300kg payload into orbit, in 2025.

The first stage of the initial rocket caught fire and exploded during a static fire test last year, pushing back plans for a 2024 launch.

World

South Korean president finally arrested over insurrection, martial law declaration

Published

7 days ago

January 15, 2025 9:02 am

BodexNG

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested for questioning by the anti-corruption agency.

Yeol was impeached by parliament on December 14 following his botched martial law declaration. His presidential powers and duties have since been suspended pending the ruling from the constitutional court — which has up to 180 days to dismiss Yeol as president or restore his powers.

Previous attempts to arrest Yeol after his impeachment proved abortive.

On Wednesday morning, Yeol was picked up from his residence by investigators after a stand-off that pitted his security details against those of the state.

He was then driven in a motorcade to be taken into custody. It would be the first time a sitting South Korean president has been arrested.

The warrant allows investigators to hold Yeol for up to 48 hours. The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) would need to apply for another warrant to detain him further.

Yeol’s supporters and opponents clashed at the scene of the arrest, with each group baying for the other’s jugular. Police officers had to cordon off the street to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

Yeol is accused of martial law declaration and leading an insurrection — a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

After his arrest, Yeol released a pre-recorded message to say “the law is all broken in this country”.

“As a president who must protect the constitution and legal system of the Republic of Korea, responding to these illegal and invalid procedures is not an acknowledgment of them, but in the hopes of preventing unsavoury bloodshed,” he said.

Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others