World
Will South Korea’s President Yoon survive second impeachment motion?
Seoul, South Korea – South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is set to face a second impeachment motion in the National Assembly on Saturday, just a week after a previous attempt by the political opposition fell short.
The stakes are high following Yoon’s controversial declaration of martial law on December 3, which triggered nationwide protests and heightened uncertainty for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
For the latest impeachment motion to succeed, it must secure at least 200 votes – a two-thirds majority – in South Korea’s 300-seat National Assembly.
The opposition bloc holds 192 seats, leaving it eight votes short of the number required.
However, in recent days, a small yet growing number of legislators from Yoon’s governing People Power Party have openly supported the motion, making impeachment increasingly more likely.
In a defiant televised address on Thursday, Yoon dismissed the idea of voluntary resignation, stressing, “Whether they impeach me or investigate me, I will stand firm.”
What happens if Yoon is impeached?
If the National Assembly passes the impeachment motion, a series of legal and constitutional processes will unfold, starting with the official delivery of the impeachment resolution from the National Assembly to the President’s Office and the Constitutional Court.
From that moment, Yoon’s presidential powers will be suspended. He will still retain the title and some privileges associated with the presidency, including the presidential residence, and continued security protection.
During this period, South Korea’s prime minister will assume the role of acting president under Article 71 of the Constitution.
However, the opposition is also considering impeaching Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in connection with his possible role in the martial law declaration. If Han is impeached, too, the deputy prime minister for the economy would take over as acting president.
The acting president will handle essential duties such as military command, issuing decrees, and managing state matters.
While the Constitution does not clearly limit the scope of an acting president’s authority, precedent suggests powers should be limited to maintaining the status quo rather than initiating major policy changes.
Review at the Constitutional Court
The impeachment process then moves to the Constitutional Court, where justices will review the case to determine whether Yoon’s removal is justified.
At least six out of the nine justices must support the motion for it to be upheld.
However, only six justices currently sit on the bench, meaning Yoon needs just one supportive ruling to survive the impeachment attempt.
The three vacant seats are positions that the National Assembly can nominate. While legislators are now rushing to fill those seats, the president has the final authority to approve the appointments, raising the possibility of delays or rejections.
The court is required to issue its decision within 180 days of receiving the case. The Constitutional Court took 63 days to rule on former President Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment in 2004 and 91 days for former President Park Geun-hye’s case in 2016.
Yoon’s potential legal defence
Yoon’s speech on Thursday appeared to preview his defence strategy should the case reach the Constitutional Court.
He is likely to argue that declaring martial law was within his constitutional powers and did not constitute an illegal act or an insurrection.
He framed the martial law declaration as a “highly political decision” falling under the president’s powers, which are “not subject to judicial review”.
Yoon insisted that his decision was an “emergency appeal to the public” amid what he described as a severe political crisis, which he blamed on the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
Constitutional Court’s ruling
If the court upholds the impeachment, Yoon will be removed from office.
He will lose privileges afforded to former presidents, such as pensions and personal aides, though he will continue to receive security protection.
A presidential election must then be held within 60 days to elect a new leader.
If the impeachment is rejected, Yoon will be reinstated as president and resume his duties.
Separate investigations
Even if he survives the second impeachment bid, Yoon still faces criminal investigations.
Although a sitting president enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution, this protection does not extend to charges of insurrection.
Multiple investigative agencies, including the police, the prosecution, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, are investigating senior officials and military commanders on charges of insurrection.
This means that Yoon could potentially be arrested, which would mark the first such case involving a sitting president in South Korea.
World
Christian farming communities under siege as US report names Fulani militants Nigeria’s deadliest threat
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
JOHANNESBURG — An estimated 30,000 mostly Muslim Fulani militants are operating in Nigeria, causing “worsening insecurity and religious freedom violations,” according to an influential new report.
The report, by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), states “violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year, as compared to attacks by organized insurgent groups and criminal gangs.”
The Fulanis, so-called herders of livestock, have, according to the USCIRF report, “targeted Christian (farming) communities in the Middle Belt and, increasingly, the South, burning homes and churches as well as kidnapping, raping, and murdering.”
CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPING CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA BY JIHADI HERDSMEN, EXPERTS SAY
Funerals were held for about 27 Christians reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in Bindi village, Plateau State, Nigeria, on July 28, 2025. (Christian Solidarity International)
But a former counterterrorism expert at the State Department told Fox News Digital that the kind of strikes the U.S., working with Nigerian government forces, have recently carried out in Nigeria’s North against Islamist terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram and Islamic State, wouldn’t work against the Fulanis in the predominantly Christian central areas of the country.
Sterling Tilley, former acting director within the Bureau of Counterterrorism, who has worked in Nigeria for the State Department, said that the U.S. “militarily dealing with the farmer-herder conflict is not advisable because it is likely to bring more instability in the country.” Tilley, now director of the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship at Howard University, added, “There are some steps that can be taken to quell the violence, but there must be Nigerian political will to do so.”
Young people protest against the killings following a deadly attack by Fulani militants on Christian-majority villages in Benue state, that left 218 people dead and 6,000 displaced. The protest took place in Benue state in June 2025. (Open Doors UK)
This week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth commented on the recent strikes ordered by President Donald Trump on Nigeria, saying, “Maybe a year ago, [the president] heard the call of Nigerian Christians who were being targeted and killed by ISIS. And he said, ‘Pete, I want the War Department to focus on ensuring that we do everything we can to protect those Christians.’”
NIGERIA NAMED EPICENTER OF GLOBAL KILLINGS OF CHRISTIANS OVER FAITH IN 2025, REPORT SAYS
Christians make up approximately 48% of Nigeria’s population. Fulani militants, the USCIRF report stated, “have often carried out operations during Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter to further maximize the psychological impact, terrifying those communities from gathering to celebrate or worship. During attacks, assailants sometimes utter slogans with religious connotations, such as “Allahu Akbar“ (Arabic for “God is great”).
But, according to the report, Muslims are being attacked too. “Fulani assailants have not spared Muslims, raiding herders’ cattle and violently attacking non-Fulani Muslim communities,” the report added.
Coffins arrive at Ibrahim Babanginda Square in Makurdi, Benue State, on Jan. 11, 2018, during a funeral service for victims of clashes between Fulani herdsmen and natives of Guma and Logo districts. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP)
“Violence at the hands of militants from the Fulani tribe far outnumbers violence from all other militant groups such as Boko Haram or ISWAP (Islamic State West African Province),” Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, an organization that highlights the persecution of Christians, told Fox News Digital.
While her organization was not part of the report, she said, “My heart has been broken as I have heard stories from women and men who have seen their beloved family members butchered in front of them or carried off into a life of slavery.”
AFRICAN UNION CHIEF DENIES GENOCIDE CLAIMS AGAINST CHRISTIANS AS CRUZ WARNS NIGERIAN OFFICIALS
Fulani Muslim men pray in Masallacin Shehu Mosque, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria, on April 24, 2019. (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)
Blyth added: “The situation is complicated, and as the report concludes, it is too simplistic to say all perpetrators are religiously motivated. What is undisputable is that Christians are highly vulnerable and often the victims, paying the price in blood. They desperately need protection and, for hundreds of thousands driven from their homes, the chance to heal and rebuild their lives.”
The USCIRF report also stated, “Criticism of responses to Fulani militant violence from federal and state authorities has often described their responses as unsatisfactory at best and complicit at worst.”
Tilley told Fox News Digital that elections are to be held in Nigeria next year, and “the Fulani do have considerable political influence as a voting bloc. Thus, the Nigerian government seems reluctant to take actions necessary to quell the violence for fear that they could lose their base of support in the North and Middle Belt.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital reached out to the Nigerian government for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Published on
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia may be preparing to launch a “massive” new attack against Ukraine.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
“We have intel indicating that Russia is preparing a new massive attack,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media late on Friday, while also advising people to listen out for air raid alerts and keep safe.
“The air force and protectors of our skies will be working around the clock, as always,” he added.
It comes after Russia deployed its nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile in a massive wave of strikes on the Kyiv region last weekend. Ukraine said the attack included 90 missiles and 600 drones.
The use of the Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile that Russia first used in a strike on Dnipro in 2024, drew strong criticism from leaders across Europe.
On Friday, Zelenskyy also reiterated his call for more Patriot missile systems from the US. The Patriot is an air and missile defense system used to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and aircraft.
Zelenskyy told reporters in Sweden on Thursday that he was being “very persistent” in his pursuit of new missiles for the system. He reportedly wrote to US President Donald Trump earlier this week asking for more ammunition.
“For us — for a nation fighting for its survival — there is hardly anything more painful to see than Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded,” he said in his letter to Trump.
-U43648517271Shc-1440x752@IlSole24Ore-Web.jpg?r=1170x507&ssl=1 "War breaking news. Trump postpones decision: nothing after two hours in Situation Room")
Iran, Trump shares draft agreement with Israel and other allies
US President Donald Trump has circulated the draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies, including Israel, while attempts are underway to prevent new ceasefire violations from escalating and derailing any agreement. Meanwhile, in an effort to accelerate negotiations, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will be in Washington today to meet with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio.
Yesterday, Tehran targeted a US air base in Kuwait after Washington struck what it called an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the fragility of the situation as both negotiating parties refuse to give in on the final points of disagreement. On Wednesday, Trump’s cabinet was scheduled to discuss the deal, but Axios – which reported on the terms of the deal reached – reported that the US president needed a few more days to reflect on the eventual go-ahead.
Direct military negotiations between Israel and Lebanon start today at the Pentagon
The first direct meeting between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations opens today at the Pentagon as part of the negotiations promoted by the United States after the truce that came into effect, at least on paper, in mid-April. The talks take place while Israel intensifies raids and bombardments in Lebanon, including the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Jewish state has issued several forced displacement orders to Israeli civilians in Nabatiye and Tyre, the two main Lebanese cities in the south of the country. Beirut’s armed forces come to the table with a position defined by President Joseph Aoun, who is considered close to the United States: a complete ceasefire, an end to Israeli operations, withdrawal from the occupied areas in the south, and increased army deployment along the border. Beirut also demands the release of Lebanese prisoners, the return of displaced persons, and international support for reconstruction. The meeting follows two previous negotiating sessions held in Washington on 14 and 15 May, which led to the extension of the ‘truce’ for 45 days. The United States, engaged in large-scale negotiations with Hezbollah supporter Iran, is aiming to strengthen direct military coordination between the two sides. In this sense, a new political round at the State Department is scheduled for 2 and 3 June. However, the most delicate knot remains on the table: Israel claims the right to conduct preventive operations against threats considered imminent, a formula contested by Beirut and at the centre of internal Lebanese tensions. At the same time, Washington continues to exert pressure on the Hezbollah disarmament dossier, while the Shiite movement reiterates its rejection of direct negotiations and continues its operations against the Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon. According to data gathered from Lebanese sources, more than 4,500 Israeli violations, more than 5,500 homes destroyed, and direct or indirect Israeli military control over more than 65 locations in South Lebanon have been recorded since the start of the mid-April ‘truce’.
Emir Qatar hears Trump, ‘priority to political and diplomatic solutions’
Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has asked US President Donald Trump to “prioritise political and diplomatic solutions” in the Middle East, in the context of negotiations between Washington and Tehran for a possible agreement. The request came during a phone call between the two leaders, during which international efforts to reduce tensions in the region were addressed. This was reported by the Qatari state agency Qna. Al Thani emphasised ‘the need to prioritise political and diplomatic solutions, as well as dialogue between all parties, to consolidate regional security and stability and avoid further tensions and escalation’. Washington meanwhile confirmed an agreement in principle with Iran to extend the 60-day truce and guarantee shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but the understanding remains pending Trump’s approval and has not yet been confirmed by Tehran.
-
Lifestyle18 minutes agoBack from Cannes, a critic shares the films he’s most excited to see again
-
Technology26 minutes agoNvidia, Microsoft, and Arm are all teasing Nvidia’s new N1X laptop processors
-
World33 minutes agoChristian farming communities under siege as US report names Fulani militants Nigeria’s deadliest threat
-
Politics36 minutes agoFBI arrests protester who threatened to kill ICE officer’s family at NJ detention center protest, Blanche says
-
Health41 minutes agoControversial drug delivered rapid relief for severe depression in just hours
-
Sports48 minutes agoThunder lose star Jalen Williams for Western Conference Finals Game 7 as hamstring injury lingers
-
Technology51 minutes agoHyundai to send 25,000 Atlas robots to the US
-
Business56 minutes agoAfter heated debate, California updates key climate limit. Critics say it’s a retreat
