-
Jan 15, 2025 | 
beyondparallel.csis.org | Victor Cha |Ellen Kim
Analysis, Commentary, Foreign Affairs , by and Yoon Suk Yeol, the lionized prosecutor-turned-politician who led the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye before becoming president himself, was arrested this morning at 10:33 am Seoul time on charges of insurrection related to his declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024. He is the first sitting South Korean president ever to be arrested. Q1: Why was Yoon arrested? A1: After the National Assembly impeached Yoon on December 14,...
-
Dec 20, 2024 | 
theatlantic.com | Victor Cha
The past two weeks in South Korean politics have featured enough twists to fill a Netflix K-drama. President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, shocking even some of his own advisers. In a late-night session, the national legislature overturned it. A few days later, the besieged president begged forgiveness from his people, while a corruption scandal engulfed the first lady.
-
Dec 6, 2024 | 
ft.com | Victor Cha
The writer is president of the Geopolitics Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, professor at Georgetown...
-
Dec 5, 2024 | 
justsecurity.org | Victor Cha
South Korean protesters and opposition political leaders are calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign or be impeached over his shocking and short-lived declaration of martial law this week. He had issued the order on Dec. 3, and about 300 troops massed on the National Assembly as lawmakers forced their way in and voted 190-0 in the 300-member legislature to overturn the declaration, a move Yoon then heeded just hours later by rescinding his order.
-
Nov 18, 2024 | 
csis.org | Victor Cha |Korea Chair
With the return of Donald Trump to the White House in 2025, governments around the world must adjust their sights away from a traditional globalist orientation by the United States and focus on the vagaries of return to “America First” foreign policies in Washington. The latter has been described as a “transactional” approach that privileges U.S. interests and forces world leaders to brace themselves for unpredictability rather than reliability from the United States.
-
Oct 23, 2024 | 
csis.org | Victor Cha |Korea Chair
Today, the U.S. government confirmed and released evidence that North Korea (DPRK) is sending troops to Russia, backing South Korean and Ukrainian claims in recent weeks. Speaking in Italy after a trip to Ukraine, U.S. secretary of defense Lloyd Austin called this development a “very, very serious issue” and warned of impacts not only in Europe but in the Indo-Pacific as well.
-
Oct 18, 2024 | 
bushcenter.org | Victor Cha
The North Korean Human Rights Act (NKHRA) was signed into law by President George W. Bush in October of 2004. It was a law that aimed to improve the condition of the people in North Korea through a variety of measures that the U.S. government and non-government organizations could take. The main way that the North Korean Human Rights Act can help improve the condition of people inside of North Korea is to help those who have gotten out of the country.
-
Sep 26, 2024 | 
csis.org | Victor Cha |Korea Chair
The audience for the U.S. presidential election is global. As Americans go to the polls, their choices have ramifications for the world. The newly formed Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at CSIS has produced a set of essays assessing the meaning of the election for Europe, Russia, Eurasia, the Indo-Pacific, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East.
-
Sep 25, 2024 | 
csis.org | Victor Cha |Korea Chair
Yesterday, the foreign ministers of the United States, South Korea (ROK), and Japan met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level week and reiterated the decision to establish a trilateral secretariat this year. Q1: What is the significance of the creation of a U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral secretariat? A1: This idea was first raised in the May 2024 vice minister trilateral meeting and press conference.
-
Jul 1, 2024 | 
csis.org | Andy Lim |Victor Cha |Korea Chair
Since late May, North Korea has launched thousands of balloons into South Korea filled with trash, marking the return of a long-used tactic of psychological warfare between the two Koreas. Rather than a sign of impending conflict, as some posit, the campaign is a manifestation of Kim Jong-un’s new decoupling policy and a preemption of the new South Korean unification policy focused on the values of freedom and human rights.
