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Raphael Rashid Profile picture
Raphael Rashid
@koryodynasty
Seoul-based freelance journalist. 라파엘 라시드 | 프리랜서 기자 | '우리가 보지 못한 대한민국' 저자 | 서울 거주. raphael@rashid.kr
Feb 23 • 20 tweets • 7 min read
1/ The impeachment proceedings against President Yoon are reaching their conclusion.

The Constitutional Court must determine if his December martial law declaration violated South Korea’s democratic order.

Here are the key questions the court must consider: Image 2/ First: was there legal basis for martial law? The Constitution only permits this during a state of war, internal turmoil or an equivalent emergency requiring military intervention to maintain public order.

Feb 6 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
1/ I've obtained the 101-page indictment against President Yoon Suk Yeol detailing the December 3, 2024 martial law incident. He's charged with leading an insurrection (내란우두머리).

Here's a breakdown of the allegations: 2/ The planning began months earlier. From March/April 2024, Yoon held meetings with military leaders at his safe house in Samcheong-dong discussing "the only way forward is through emergency powers" and "the military needs to step up and take an active role".
Jan 16 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1/ Quite extraordinary how S. Korea's president claims sending armed troops to storm parliament was based on a copy-paste error. The martial law decree that launched one of the most serious crises in Korean democracy was apparently just... poorly proofread.hani.co.kr/arti/english_e… 2/ On Dec 3, troops with live ammunition broke into the National Assembly, smashing windows. The military deployed 57,735 rounds of ammunition. This was to "ban political activities". But Yoon now says the decree authorising this was just accidentally copied from old templates.
Jan 13 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
1/ North Korea's mounting casualties in Ukraine: what we learned from South Korea's spy agency briefing today, according to lawmakers who attended.

Revelations about captured soldiers, suicide orders, and the human cost of NK's support for Russia's war effort. 2/ South Korean intelligence estimates over 3,000 North Korean casualties in Ukraine:

- Around 300 dead
- Approximately 2,700 wounded
Jan 2 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
1/ South Korea's opposition Democratic Party has issued an emergency standby order for its lawmakers to remain in the National Assembly, as tensions mount over President Yoon's impending and potential arrest. 2/ This comes after Yoon sent a letter to supporters outside his residence last night, which the party views as potentially inciting insurrection. The letter spoke of "anti-state forces" and vowed to "fight to the end".
Jan 1 • 26 tweets • 6 min read
1/ Let's talk about that concrete structure at the end of the runway that seems to have been a contributing factor to the catastrophic explosion of Jeju Air flight 7C2216 that killed 179 of 181 people aboard at Muan International Airport.

A thread: Image 2/ After a first landing attempt failed, the aircraft circled and approached from the opposite direction. Following controller guidance and mutual agreement, they attempted to land on Runway 19 (the north-to-south direction). Image
Jan 1 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
1/ For first time in 64 years, South Korea's National Assembly passes a formal motion thanking citizens who defended democracy from Dec 3 martial law through to Dec 14 impeachment. The resolution was supported by 170 opposition lawmakers. Image
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Image 2/ Letter draws direct parallels between historical democracy movements, from the 1960 April Revolution to the 2016 Candlelight Protests, and December's events.

Last such parliamentary gesture was in 1960 after student uprising toppled authoritarian rule. Image
Dec 27, 2024 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Thoughts: In an extraordinary move, South Korea's parliament has impeached Acting President Han Duck-soo, marking an unprecedented escalation in what was already the country's gravest political crisis since democratisation. 2/ The immediate trigger was Han's refusal to appoint Constitutional Court judges, but this crisis runs deeper. It exposes fundamental weaknesses in S. Korea's democratic architecture that have remained unresolved since the transition from military rule.
Dec 21, 2024 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
1/ South Korean media reporting growing concerns about the extent of alleged shamanistic and fortune-telling influences within President Yoon's administration, with multiple spiritual advisers allegedly operating at different levels of power. Image
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Image 2/ Latest revelation shows Noh Sang-won, said to be a key figure in the martial law crisis and former military intel commander, has been working as a shaman/fortune teller from a basement shrine near where the martial law was allegedly planned.

Dec 21, 2024 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
1/ Korea's martial law probe has uncovered extraordinary meetings at a burger joint involving a former military commander who, after being dishonourably discharged, was found to be living in a fortune-telling shop where he allegedly practiced divination alongside other shamans. Image
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Image 2/ Two meetings were documented at Lotteria: Dec 1 and Dec 3. Police have confirmed through CCTV that active-duty commander and colonels met with Noh Sang-won, a civilian ex-commander living as a fortune teller, to allegedly plan the martial law operation. koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/202…
Dec 12, 2024 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Breaking: President Yoon Suk Yeol has just addressed the nation. He said his martial law declaration was "a constitutional decision and act of governance" (헌법적 결단이자 통치행위) - not subject to legal judgment, comparing it to presidential pardons or diplomatic actions. Image 2/ "How can an act lasting only 2 hours be an insurrection?" Yoon challenged critics. He claimed the deployment of <300 unarmed troops was symbolic, meant to "warn the public about the opposition's anti-state misdeeds" (반국가적 패악을 알려 이를 멈추도록 경고).
Dec 3, 2024 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Breaking: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared martial law Image
Image Breaking: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared martial law. In an emergency address to the nation, he claimed martial law was necessary to protect S. Korea's liberal democratic order from what he termed "pro-North Korean anti-state forces." Image
Aug 26, 2024 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
1/ A deepfake porn crisis is gripping S. Korea following revelations of the widespread creation/distribution of such content on Telegram, affecting women of all ages. Victims incl. minors, students, teachers etc. Authorities struggling to contain spread. en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN202408… 2/ Numerous Telegram chat rooms dedicated to deepfake porn have been discovered. One channel reported over 133,000 members. Schools nationwide have been affected, including elementary, middle, high schools, and universities.
Jun 20, 2024 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
1/ It seems that the "military assistance" in the treaty between Russia and the DPRK suggests financial or military equipment aid in the event of aggression, but the reality is that the wording is vague enough to mean anything, including military intervention. Here's why: 2/ Korean version of Article 4 uses the wording "군사적 및 기타 원조" which translates to "military and other assistance." "군사적" (military) and "원조" (assistance/aid) doesn't differentiate between aid/weapons and troops, although in the past "원조" has at times meant former.
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Jun 4, 2024 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
A S. Korean YouTuber is going viral for bringing attention to the horrific Miryang gang rape case from 2004, involving at least 44 high school boys in assaulting several school girls. He claims to have identified some of the now-adult perpetrators and is exposing them one by one. I won't share the videos/channel, but it's difficult to ignore given that it's gone viral. The vigilante's actions seem to have immediate effects, with the alleged perpetrators losing jobs (and their employers saying so on IG) and Korean news outlets picking up on the story.
Jun 4, 2024 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
1/ President Yoon Suk Yeol's sudden and surprise announcement that vast oil and gas reserves may exist off the country's east coast has raised a lot of eyebrows, including the fact that the U.S. company that conducted the analysis is located in a house that's listed for rent.

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Image 2/ The announcement came during an unscheduled briefing that was only disclosed to reporters a mere 8 minutes beforehand. The abrupt timing has led some to speculate whether the announcement was rushed and if there were political motivations given Yoon's 21% approval rating. Image
May 20, 2024 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
1/ #FreeBella: My latest for the Guardian on the sad and urgent plight of Bella the beluga, trapped in a tiny tank at Seoul's Lotte World Aquarium for a decade. It’s heartbreaking. Lotte promised to release her, but such efforts have stalled. For 5 years. theguardian.com/environment/ar… 2/ The @hotpinkdolphins group has led the charge in calling on the Lotte Group, one of South Korea's largest and wealthiest conglomerates, to free Bella from her lifeless tank housed in a glitzy megamall at the foot of the 555-metre Lotte World Tower skyscraper.

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Mar 27, 2024 • 26 tweets • 7 min read
1/ Meet Cho Kuk, the leader of S. Korea's newly formed Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP). Cho is a former SNU law professor, and former senior aide and justice minister under the Moon Jae-in admin. He has seen a surge in popularity since launching the RKP less than a month ago. 2/ Cho founded the RKP earlier this month with the aim of opposing what he calls the "prosecutorial dictatorship" under President Yoon Suk Yeol. The party has only nominated proportional representation candidates for the April 10 general elections.

Mar 15, 2024 • 19 tweets • 5 min read
1/ An introduction to South Korea's electoral system, where major parties often create "satellite parties" to maximise their seat allocation in the proportional representation (PR) part of the election. Here's how it works:
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Image 2/ In the upcoming South Korean legislative election, the two main parties have created satellite parties: the Democratic Party has created the satellite party "Democratic Union" (더불어민주연합), while the People Power Party has created the "People's Future" (국민의미래). Why?
Jun 17, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1/ Today's shocking clash in Daegu not only highlights the struggle between intolerance and freedom but also raises serious questions about mayor Hong Joon-pyo's aptitude for his job and his motivations behind mobilizing 500 civil servants to serve his personal homophobic agenda. 2/ It is deeply concerning to witness the mayor of South Korea's third largest city using his position to try suppress an event that celebrates love, diversity, and equality. Such actions raise doubts about his ability to prioritise the well-being and rights of all citizens.
Jun 17, 2023 • 20 tweets • 9 min read
An unprecedented and absurd showdown between intolerance and freedom is unfolding in Daegu right now: 100s of civil servants (yellow) deployed by the homophobic mayor who wants to demolish small pride festival vs. 100s of police ready to protect event's assembly freedom. This clash highlights the ongoing battle between regressive attitudes and the progress made towards greater acceptance and equality. It literally underscores the significance of events like pride festivals.