(6 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++QUALITY AS INCOMING++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Seoul – 6 December 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Ciaran McQuillan, The Associated Press:
"In a dramatic about-face, the head of South Korea’s governing party this morning said that president Yoon Suk Yeol posed great danger to South Koreans if he is not suspended. Now, yesterday, the People Power Party, of which Yoon is a member, publicly backed the beleaguered president, saying that all 108 of the party’s national assembly members will back the president in an impeachment vote, which could happen as soon as this evening here at the National Assembly. However, at a meeting this morning, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said that President Yoon remaining in power posed, "a significant risk of extreme actions like re-attempting to impose martial law, putting the citizens of this country in great danger," he said. Now, Han said that he had received intelligence that Yoon, during that brief period, martial law was in force, had ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of anti-state activities. Thousands of demonstrators have gathered here and elsewhere in Seoul, calling on President Yoon to step down immediately. In a country that is no stranger to mass street protests and swift impeachments. The president, who has not been seen in public since plunging this country into one of the worst political crisis it has faced since becoming a fully functioning democracy back in the late 1980s could be powerless in a matter of hours, if not days."
STORYLINE:
South Korea’s governing party chief is expressing support for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law, in a bombshell reversal that makes Yoon’s impeachment more likely.
People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun said he had received intelligence that Yoon had ordered the arrests of unspecified politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities” during martial law.
He said Yoon poses a risk of extreme actions that could put South Korea and its citizens in danger. Impeaching Yoon would require support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members.
"Thousands of demonstrators have gathered here and elsewhere in Seoul, calling on President Yoon to step down immediately," said Ciaran McQuillan from The Associated Press speaking from the city.
The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/6e4308a537744fa6b9f2e6604460c317
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in December 11, 2024, 12:04 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
