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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
Jun 9 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
1/ South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung is reportedly considering appointing his own criminal defence lawyer as a Constitutional Court justice whilst facing a constitutional question over whether his ongoing trials can even continue. koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/202… 2/ Lee Jae-myung faces five ongoing criminal cases including election law violations, perjury, and alleged illegal payments to North Korea. But there's a big constitutional question mark over whether these trials can proceed at all.
May 26 • 17 tweets • 6 min read
1/ Conservative presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo is desperately trying to distance himself from his far-right extremist past, but evidence reveals years of close collaboration with South Korea's most notorious radical preacher.

2/ In January 2020, Kim Moon-soo co-founded the Liberty Unification Party with Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, leader of the extremist Sarang Jeil Church. Kim served as party leader whilst Jeon provided the ideological foundation and grassroots network. Image
May 22 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1/ South Korea prosecutors suspect a disgraced ex-military intelligence commander turned fortune teller actually wrote Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration. Roh Sang-won visited defence minister's home 20+ times before 3 December martial law, including daily in final 4 days. 2/ Roh was dishonourably discharged from the military in 2018 following a sexual harassment incident and subsequently became a fortune teller. Despite this, he allegedly acted as an unofficial adviser to former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun.
May 15 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
1/ South Korea's opposition party has alleged that Judge Ji Gui-yeon, who's overseeing disgraced ex-president Yoon's insurrection trial, received improper entertainment at a room salon. They're demanding his immediate removal and a formal investigation. imnews.imbc.com/news/2025/poli… 2/ For context: "Room salons" in South Korea are exclusive entertainment venues where male clients pay premium prices for private rooms with hostesses who pour drinks and provide "companionship" and sometimes sexual services. They operate in legal grey areas.
Apr 3 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
1/ S. Korea is treating Trump's 25% tariff announcement as a national emergency, with Acting President Han Duck-soo mobilising an all-government response.

"The situation is very grave with the approach of the reality of a global tariff war", Han said. koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-04-0… 2/ With Trump declaring April 2 as "Liberation Day" for American industry, South Korean officials are scrambling to develop strategies to protect the country's $128 billion in exports to the US, which generated a $55.7 billion trade surplus last year.
Mar 28 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
1/ A few weeks after President Yoon declared martial law in December, I was able to read a military document detailing how martial law would have worked... has it been successful.

The content was so disturbing that I still have nightmares about it. 2/ This wasn't just a "warning" to the opposition as Yoon claims. The manual reveals extensive control measures had martial law been successful, including an extensive permit system for going out at night and driving.
Mar 24 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1/ What today's Han Duck-soo ruling tells us about President Yoon's impeachment case: not much.

Here are the implications from the Constitutional Court's decision: Image 2/ The court rejected Han's impeachment because his violations couldn't be "definitively determined to constitute betrayal of public trust" (국민의 신임을 배반한 경우에 해당한다고 단정할 수 없어).

This standard will no doubt apply to Yoon's case as well.
Mar 24 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
BREAKING: South Korea's Constitutional Court rejects PM Han Duck-soo's impeachment BREAKING: South Korea's Constitutional Court has rejected the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, allowing him to immediately resume his duties and role as acting president during President Yoon's suspension.
Mar 21 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
1/ We find ourselves again not knowing when Yoon's impeachment verdict will be announced. So much speculation. Only the 8 justices know what's going on. Meanwhile, this endless guessing game continues as Korean media try to decipher every signal from the Constitutional Court: 2/ What we DO know: The court announced it will deliver Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's impeachment verdict on Monday 24 March. This is also the same day as President Yoon's criminal trial hearing at Seoul Central District Court for the insurrection charges.
Mar 6 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
1/ I just watched the German public broadcaster ARD's documentary about South Korea's martial law crisis. It’s both appalling and shocking. This isn't merely biased journalism, it's borderline unethical, functioning essentially as a mouthpiece for far-right conspiracy theorists. 2/ The documentary presents extreme views without any pushback whatsoever. It legitimises unfounded claims about Chinese/North Korean infiltration, election fraud, and a supposed "communist threat" from the opposition. All without critical examination. ardmediathek.de/video/phoenix-…
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).