S. Korea President, Texas Abortion Lawsuit, Coffee Prices
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South Korea's parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for his attempt to impose martial law on the democracy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion medication to a Dallas-area woman. A drought in Brazil has caused the price of coffee on the futures market to reach a 47-year high.
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South Korea's president has been impeached. Earlier this month, he tried to impose martial law as he struggled against his political opponents in the government. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is up first from NPR News. Thousands of protesters outside the parliament building cheered when the measure was passed. The impeachment has significant implications for U.S. foreign policy. We'll have more on that story. Plus, Texas soothes a New York doctor for prescribing abortion medication to a Dallas woman. And coffee prices soar after a bad drought hits Brazil. Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend. South Korean President Yun Sung Yall declared martial law 11 days ago only to reverse his order hours later in the face of public outrage. The political crisis threatened to pull an established democracy back to its days of military rule. And Barry's Anthony Kuhn joined us now from Seoul. Anthony, thanks for being with us. My pleasure is gone. Parliament has tried to impeach Yun just a week ago. How did the vote go this time? Why was it different? Well, this time all lawmakers in South Korea's parliament called the National Assembly voted. The vote ended up 204 to 85. Here's what it sounded like when the vote was announced in the main chamber. Of course, there's a lot of celebrating in the streets as well. Now, Yun's original rationale for martial law was that opposition politicians who were sympathetic or in league with North Korea were paralyzing the government. But he never really stood that charge up. It never really resonated beyond his base of conservative supporters. And it became clear that there was no war or breakdown of public order or anything that legally justified martial law. And as his ministers and generals were arrested or questioned, it became clear that Yun and not his subordinates were the one who was orchestrating martial law. Anthony, how does South Korea choose a new president now? Well, Yun's official duties have already been suspended and South Korea's Prime Minister, Han Dok Su will stand in his acting president. Next, South Korea's constitutional court will have 180 days to reject or uphold the impeachment. If they uphold it, Yun will be officially removed from office and a new election for president will have to be held within 60 days. South Korea's democracy passed a stress test as their lasting damage. It seems that way. One thing that happened was that Yun tried to hand power over to his ruling party. Said, "I'm not going to manage things. They will." But experts said that's an unconstitutional arrangement. So for a while, people were not really sure who was leading South Korea. And so many top generals were suspended from their duties. There was also concern about military vulnerability. The country technically remains at war with North Korea. I think South Korea's public image has taken somewhat of a beating. This is a country that with the U.S. co-hosted a summit for democracy. And yet, here was its leader trying to use the military to roll back people's civil rights. And, you know, a lot of people are celebrating right now, people who wanted Yun impeached. But I think the sense you get from living here is that this has been a very stressful, even traumatic 11 days for South Koreans. And how does it affect the U.S.-South Korean relationship and shared policy goals? Well, publicly, at least, the U.S. said it was relieved that Yun's declaration of martial law was lifted. But I think privately, Biden administration officials have got to be absolutely exasperated that Yun shot himself in the foot, because Yun was instrumental in forging a three-way coalition of the U.S., Japan and South Korea to help deter North Korea, support Ukraine, and force export controls on China, all these policy goals. Then, again, think about this. Yun is likely to be replaced by a liberal North Korea-friendly administration. And if the Trump administration and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un want to do the diplomatic dance again, South Korea could help broker some diplomacy.
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