Philip Patrick

Yoon Suk Yeol, elected South Korea’s president in 2022, has been removed from office. The Constitutional Court in Seoul has upheld Yoon’s impeachment over his actions in the ultra-short-lived declaration of martial law last December. After lengthy deliberations the court delivered a decisive eight-zero verdict. A snap election must now be held within 60 days with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo serving as acting president in the interim. Yoon’s PPP (People Power party) accepted the verdict and the man himself issued a humble apology to the nation saying, ‘I deeply regret not being able to live up to your expectations. It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve our nation.

Japan is planning to strengthen its ‘counterstrike capabilities’ by deploying long-range missiles on the southern island of Kyushu. The missiles have a range of 621 miles, meaning they could hit targets within North Korea and China. The move comes amidst rising tensions in the region and in an atmosphere of increased uncertainty in Japan about American security guarantees. The weapons, upgraded versions of the GSDF (Ground Self Defense Force – Japan’s army) Type 12 land-to-ship guided missiles, will be stored at bases with existing military garrisons and will be able to defend the strategically vital Okinawa island chain.

Another day, another Trumpian bombshell, this one aimed at the country he says he loves: Japan. Trump told reporters this week that the US-Japan security alliance which has bound the two countries together militarily since 1952 and offered military guarantees to Japan since 1960 was ‘interesting’ but unequal as it obliged the US to defend Japan but not vice-versa. Trump added that the Japanese ‘make a fortune with us economically’ a reference to Japan’s trade surplus with the US. Trump was speaking ahead of a visit by Japan’s trade minister who will reportedly ask (perhaps beg) for an exemption from pending US tariffs on steel and aluminium (25 per cent due next week with ‘no exceptions’).

Oh dear… it appears that birthday and greetings cards are sexist. This is, at least, the claim of a group of MPs who have submitted an EDM (Early Day Motion) calling for more representation of female footballers on such items by their manufacturers. The motion was tabled by Liberal Democrat MP for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, who told the BBC that the greeting card industry was ‘not moving with the times’.  Perhaps it is not the companies who are sexist then but the public? I certainly am Poor Ms Maguire explained how she had been motivated by the trauma of searching for a card for her ‘massive football fan’ office manager and finding only those depicting male players. One can only imagine the distress this induced.

South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested after police officers scaled fences and cut through barbed wire to detain him in his luxury Seoul residence. Suk-yeol, the first ever sitting South Korean leader to be taken into custody, was held in connection with his failed attempt to impose martial law last month. But while South Korean authorities have finally got their man, this is far from the end of the saga. Yoon's talk of ‘bloodshed’ was probably hyperbolic A motorcade believed to be carrying the president was seen leaving his compound and he appears to be being held at the CIO (Corruption Investigation Office) headquarters in the nearby city of Gwacheon.

In extraordinary scenes more reminiscent of a South American coup than a supposedly stable first world democracy, fights broke out between protestors supporting and opposing South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol, outside his presidential compound in an upscale suburb of Seoul. They were there to demand or resist Yoon’s arrest for his declaration of martial law last month.  Yoon, whose powers are currently suspended, is being defended by the PSS (Presidential Security Service) who are barring the way to government investigators now trying to figure out how to gain entry. Yoon’s personal security detail (200 strong) has fortified his compound and so far kept investigators at bay.

It takes quite a lot to unite the fans of Manchester United and Liverpool, but it will happen today at Anfield. Some of the most committed supporters will make a joint protest along with the Football Supporters’ Association at what they see as the exploitative ticket price policies of their respective clubs. There will be demonstrations outside the stadium and a banners bearing the message ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ will be unfurled inside the ground. The specific target is the trend in rising prices and the gradual disappearance of concessions, which is making regular attendance for generational fans increasingly unaffordable.

The aftershocks of last Tuesday’s declaration, and then cancellation, of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol continue to be felt by South Korea’s ruling elite. Every day brings a new development and fresh revelations in this shocking and somewhat bizarre episode, along with evidence of the deep fissures in what had seemed a stable and relatively harmonious society. Yoon survived an impeachment vote on 7 December, but will likely face another on Saturday. He is under police investigation and two attempts have reportedly been made to raid his parliamentary office. There have been protests and strikes (by metalworkers at Kia plants) in a push for his exit. He has vowed to fight on.

Six hours. That was the duration of the profoundly disturbing and simultaneously farcical version of martial law invoked by South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday night – the country’s first experience of military rule for 40 years. It was so brief in duration that if you weren’t plugged in to social media or watching TV you may not have been aware it had even occurred. What this brief but extraordinary episode amounted to was a deployment of troops to the parliament building to bar the entrance of lawmakers. That operation failed utterly, as protesters were quickly on the scene to take on the military, in some cases with fire extinguishers, and facilitate the entrance of the representatives.