As expected*, YOON Suk-yeol's suicidal martial law folly resulted in his impeachment, and Korea democracy prevailed. Now the following steps are equally foreseeable:
- PM HAN Duck-soo will act as interim president the time for the Supreme Court to confirm YOON's ousting**,
- presidential elections will be held and crown a member of the opposition,
- as one of the only 3 PPP lawmakers who had the decency to take part in the first impeachment vote last Saturday, AHN Cheol-soo will once more run and fail to coalesce around a center that can't emerge in such an utterly divided nation.
- the PPP itself will once more change names and fail to reform, plagued by self-destructive forces (hardcore ultra-conservatives, anti-feminists, bigots, K-MAGA conspiracy theorists...)
The only question that matters now is will LEE Jae-myung manage to pull a Trump and succeed in eluding justice and accountability all the way to the elections?
YOON's political suicide gave him a unique opportunity to pose as a hero and gain global attention, even if few international media mentioned LEE's darker sides (let's put that on the demonstration dopamine and the euphoria of witnessing history, if not on fixers who don't always share the same journalistic standards).
The fact that YOON Suk-yeol deserves impeachment doesn't mean LEE Jae-myung doesn't deserve to be judged.
The fact that the LEE Jun-seok and Co. are appalling anti-feminists doesn't mean LEE Jae-myung shouldn't be criticized for labeling his nephew's double femicide as mere 'dating violence'.
The fact that the PPP must reform and purge itself of rotten apples doesn't mean the DP doesn't have to do the same.
Korea can't afford yet another disappointment.
Following PARK Geun-hye's impeachment, we've seen two presidents elected to restore justice but failing on their core mission: MOON Jae-in by betraying the memory of ROH Moo-hyun and perverting the balance of power and justice, and YOON Suk-yeol by betraying his promise through double standards for justice and the nation through an outrageous martial law.
If Korea proved once again that it remains a vibrant democracy, it has at least one more job to finish.
'#YoonSukyeol 2nd #impeachment vote starting with floor leader #ParkChandae's speech.' (seoulvillage.bsky.social/post/3ldaqxeojwc2k - 20241214) - The eventual score was 204 yes, 85 no, 3 abstentions, 8 invalid. |
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* see "Double Feature Night: '12.3 The Day' + 'The President's Last (going with a) Bang'"
** the opposition may try to impeach HAN in order to put its assembly speaker WOO Won-sik in his shoes, but shan't get a 2/3 vote. Removing the last resistance to LEE Jae-myung in the justice system could prove much easier, but would retrospectively prove YOON right on one of the justifications he used for his appalling martial law.
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