South Korea’s defence minister resigns after failed martial law push
South Korea’s parliament introduced a motion on Thursday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over a botched attempt to impose martial law, while the defence minister blamed for advising the move and ordering troops to the parliament resigned.
Lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Party planned to put up a vote in parliament to impeach Yoon at around 7 p.m. local time on Saturday, a party spokesperson told reporters.
The attempt “caused great confusion and fear among our people,” Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won told a session of South Korea’s National Assembly held in the early hours of Thursday.
The party needs at least eight of the ruling party’s 108 lawmakers to back the bill for it to pass with a two-thirds majority of the 300-seat parliament.
Yoon’s ruling People Power Party is divided over the crisis but, with two years left in Yoon’s five-year term, said it would oppose impeachment.
President fights for his political future
Fighting for his political future, Yoon accepted the resignation of Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun on Thursday and nominated his ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Byung-hyuk, as a replacement, Yoon’s office said.
Kim had recommended Yoon declare martial law late on Tuesday, according to a senior military official and the filing to impeach Yoon by opposition members. Kim also ordered the deployment of troops to the parliament, Vice-Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho said, adding he was unaware of the martial law order until Yoon declared it.
South Korean opposition parties are moving to impeach president Yoon Suk Yeol after his aborted attempt to declare martial law unleashed outrage and protest on the streets of Seoul. The impeachment vote could come as soon as Friday.
“I have fundamentally opposed the mobilization of military forces under martial law and have expressed negative opinions about it,” he told a parliament hearing on Thursday, apologizing and taking responsibility for failing to prevent it.
Martial law lasted about six hours, as the National Assembly quickly voted to overrule the president, forcing his cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.
Concern among allies
The declaration of martial law attempted to ban political activity and censor the media in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key U.S. ally. It sparked outrage in the streets and concern among its international allies.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Japan’s “security situation may be fundamentally changed” in light of the instability in Seoul and North Korea’s rising military assertiveness.
“What will happen to South Korea? There appears to be a great deal of domestic criticism and opposition,” he told parliament on Thursday, adding that Yoon’s efforts to improve relations with Tokyo “must never be undermined.”
There has been no reaction yet from North Korea to the drama in the South.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Reuters on Wednesday Washington had not been made aware in advance of Yoon’s declaration, while his deputy, Kurt Campbell, said Yoon had badly misjudged it.
Yoon had been embraced by leaders in the West as a partner in the U.S.-led effort to unify democracies against growing authoritarianism in China, Russia and elsewhere.
But he caused unease among South Koreans by branding his critics as “communist totalitarian and anti-state forces.” In November, he denied wrongdoing in response to influence-peddling allegations against him and his wife and he has taken a hard line against labour unions.
‘The people won’
The impeachment follows a night of chaos after Yoon declared martial law and armed troops attempted to force their way into the National Assembly building in Seoul, only to stand back when parliamentary aides sprayed them with fire extinguishers.
The commander of the martial law troops said he had no intention of wielding firearms against the public, and Kim, the vice defence minister, said no live ammunition had been provided to those troops.
“The people and the aides who protected parliament protected us with their bodies. The people won, and it’s now time for us to protect the people,” the Democratic Party’s Kim said.
“We need to immediately suspend the authority of President Yoon. He has committed an indelible, historic crime against the people, whose anxiety needs to be soothed so that they can return to their daily lives.”
The martial law crisis rattled global financial markets and South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index. Currency dealers reported suspected state intervention on Wednesday to keep the won stable.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok sent an emergency note to global financial chiefs and credit rating agencies late on Wednesday to say the ministry was working to alleviate any adverse impact from political turmoil.
Yoon’s martial law declaration, the first of its kind in decades, harkened back to South Korea’s past military-backed governments when authorities occasionally proclaimed martial law and other decrees that allowed them to station soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles on streets or at public places such as schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.
Until Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, such scenes of military intervention had not been seen since South Korea achieved a democracy in the late 1980s.
Published at Tue, 03 Dec 2024 17:26:53 +0000
UnitedHealthcare CEO shot dead in New York by attacker who waited for him, police say
Police are still searching for the gunman who killed the head of a major American health insurance company in New York on Wednesday in what the city’s top officer described as a “brazen targeted attack.”
Brian Thompson, head of UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead as he walked into the Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan just before 6:45 a.m. ET. Police said the attacker had been waiting for Thompson, who was heading to the hotel for the company’s annual investors conference.
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“At this time, every indication is this was a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack.”
The police department’s chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, said the shooter got to the hotel about five minutes before Thompson, who had been staying in another hotel across the street. Standing along the building’s edge, the gunman let several people pass by unharmed before opening fire on the businessman.
A video obtained by CNN shows an assailant pointing a gun at UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson on a sidewalk in New York City on Wednesday. Thompson died after what police said seemed to be a ‘targeted’ shooting.
Security footage obtained by CBC News showed the gun malfunctioned, but the shooter cleared the jam. The gunman also ignored a witness in the video, who escaped from just a metre or two away.
“Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted, but at this point, we do not know why,” Kenny said.
The assailant escaped on foot before switching to an electric bike, and was last seen on video riding into Central Park at 6:48 a.m., the officer said.
Police initially said the shooter rode into the park on a bicycle from CitiBike, the bike-share program. But a spokesperson for the program’s operator, Lyft, said police officials informed the company Wednesday afternoon that the bike was not from the CitiBike fleet.
Thompson, 50, was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital at 7:12 a.m.
Kenny said the executive did not appear to have a security detail and did not seem to realize he was in danger. The footage of the shooting does not have sound, he said, so officers didn’t yet know whether the shooter said anything to him.
Victim called a ‘highly respected colleague’
UnitedHealth is the largest U.S. health insurer, providing benefits to tens of millions of Americans, who pay more for health care than those in any other country.
The company has been grappling with the fallout from a massive data hack of its Change Healthcare unit that provides technology for U.S. health providers, disrupting medical care for patients and reimbursement to doctors for months.
New York City police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Brian Thompson, 50, was shot dead in what appears to be ‘a premeditated, preplanned, targeted attack’ in Manhattan.
UnitedHealth Group chief executive Andrew Witty took the stage about one hour after the conference started Wednesday and announced the rest of the program would be cancelled.
“We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members, and as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today,” he said.
Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, had been in the city since Monday. He had served as CEO for more than three years and started with the company in 2004.
“Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him. We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time,” read a social media post from UnitedHealth Group.
“Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him.”
Police said they are still working to determine a motive.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that her husband told her “there were some people that had been threatening him.” She didn’t have details but suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage.
Eric Werner, the police chief in the Minneapolis suburb where Thompson lived, said his department had not received any reports of threats against the executive.
The Hilton is in a bustling part of Manhattan, a short walk from tourist sites such as the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center. It’s often dense with tourists and office workers on weekday mornings.
Police said the shooting would not affect the annual Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center — a few blocks from the Hilton — which went ahead as scheduled Wednesday evening amid a stepped-up police presence.
Part of the block where the shooting took place was cordoned off with police tape, with a large contingent of police officers at the scene.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the state is “sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team.”
“This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health-care community in Minnesota,” Walz wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. and manages health insurance coverage for employers, as well as Medicaid programs funded by the state and federal governments.
Published at Wed, 04 Dec 2024 17:11:09 +0000