Global News Podcast - Police suspend efforts to arrest impeached South Korean president

Episode Date: January 3, 2025

South Korean police called off an attempt to arrest the suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol, following a long standoff with his security team. Anti-corruption officers have appealed to the acting president to intervene.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. news. Join me, Sahar Zain, to hear how many Hindus in the country are now living in fear. Listen now by searching for the documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Miles and at 14 Hours GMT on Friday the 3rd of January these are our main stories. Anti-corruption investigators in South Korea have suspended an attempt to arrest the impeached president, Yun Suk-yong. Police in Las Vegas try to piece together clues to explain why a cyber truck exploded outside a hotel. Israel confirms it has detained a Garzán doctor,

contradicting its earlier statement about his whereabouts. Also in this podcast, Venezuela's government offers a $100,000 reward for information on an exiled opposition presidential candidate and... Saltwater croc that's maybe two meter to maybe two and a half, anything bigger. If you're in the water or near the water and they get hold of you, your chance of survival is near zero.

The efforts to manage Australia's burgeoning crocodile population. The political standoff in South Korea shows no sign of being resolved. Despite his impeachment and suspension from office after imposing martial law last month, President Yoon Suk-yul has fervent supporters still. In fact, they're so impassioned that thousands of them have been surrounding Mr. Yoon's house in Central Seoul, trying to prevent police from arresting him as part of corruption investigations. The president's security officers refused to let police through, so once again they backed down. Jean McKenzie reports now on another day of deadlock.

The standoff started before dawn. Police blocked the roads around the president's home, pushing back his incense supporters. As the sun rose, the first officers ran up to his house to make the arrest. But they were unable to get in, blocked by the president's security team, who refused to open the door. By lunchtime, the officers had given up. An arrest was impossible, they said. Mr Yoon may have been suspended, stripped of his power, but still

his security is protecting him. It's been exactly a month since President Yun plunged his country into crisis, imposing martial law, ordering troops to storm the Parliament. He quickly reversed the decision, but he's being investigated for starting an insurrection, and he's refused to cooperate with authorities, ignoring all requests to come in for questioning. His supporters have camped out around his home, also determined to block his arrest. This is totally uncharted territory for South Korea. It is the first time a sitting president here has ever faced arrest. And even though most people here are still so upset about his decision

to try and bring the country under martial law, the core of his supporters here have stayed loyal to him and they have surrounded the president's residence this morning. They're riled up and angry, and they've been spurred on by the president himself, who has thanked them for working so hard to defend him. They chant the same unfounded conspiracy theories Mr. Yoon himself has alluded to, that last year's elections were rigged and the country has been infiltrated by pro-North Korean forces. We will fight. They have to kill me first before they arrest President Yun. That will not happen

never again." Mr Yun swore he'd fight this until the end. This is exactly what he, his security and his supporters are doing. Jean McKenzie in Seoul. As we heard in her report Mr. Younes presidential security service blocked his arrest forcing the corruption investigation office to give up the attempt after a five and a half hour standoff. Now the anti-corruption officers are demanding that the acting president order Mr. Younes guards to stand down. Jonathan Head is our correspondent in the region. I asked him what

could happen next. Given that there were around 200 security officials there not letting them into President Younes residence and lots of his impassioned supporters outside being held back by the police, it was probably wise for them to avoid a confrontation. So I think you know that they're going back to reconsider. They may try to negotiate though it doesn't look as though the atmosphere is very conducive to reconsider. They may try to negotiate, though it doesn't look as though the atmosphere is very conducive to that. They could try to get another arrest warrant when the current one runs out.

Alternatively, Korea may just be left with the impeachment option. Impeachment proceedings are underway. The Constitutional Court held another hearing today. But that can take quite a long time, up to six months. The last impeachment of President Park Geun-hye in 2017 took three months I think given the gravity of the charge against President Yeun this attempt to impose martial law people his people opposed him definitely don't want to wait that

long for a resolution to this crisis. And Jonathan we heard in Gene McKenzie's piece there one supporter of the president saying you'll have to kill me first if you want to arrest him. Why are his supporters quite so impassioned about it? Well, I think Korean politics has always had a pretty fiery flavour. You've got to remember this is a young democracy, fought for at great cost in the late 1980s. It's a divided country living all the time under the sort of existential threat from North Korean forces. Politics has always been very intense, heightened somewhat argued by the personality driven nature of its

democracy. It's got largely first past the post democracy. It tends towards a winner-takes-all outcome when you have elections. Plus the judicial system has been used very freely by under winning administrations to go after predecessors. I mean the last four presidents have all either been investigated, impeached or actually put in jail and I think that means people you don't necessarily respect they always think the put the judicial process which of course is now being invoked to deal with President Yun's astonishing martial law attempt in early December, that many of his supporters will view that attempt as sort of partisan.

And after all, Korea is also subject to the same sort of polarisation of politics that you see in many other countries, driven of course by the new media environment we live in. All of these ingredients have led to a cocktail for a very intense political standoff and very little appetite for compromise. Jonathan Haidt. Over the past few days much of the focus in the United States has been on the terror attack in New Orleans in which 14 people were killed. In its latest update the FBI said it believed the suspect, Army veteran Shamsud Din Jabbar, acted alone when he drove a truck into crowds on New Year's Day.

There had been questions about whether the attack was connected to an incident in Las Vegas, which happened a few hours later when a Tesla cyber truck exploded outside a Trump hotel. The US authorities now say they haven't been able to establish any definitive link. Lily Jamali reports. I'm standing in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas where there remains an enhanced law enforcement presence one day after a

Tesla cyber truck packed with fireworks and camping gas exploded at the entrance. That explosion killed the person driving the vehicle and also inflicted minor injuries on seven other people. Authorities believe that the driver was 37 year old Matthew livers burger of Colorado Springs, Colorado, but they are still awaiting confirmation. The driver's body, they say, was burned beyond recognition, but they did confirm that the driver of the vehicle suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

Now, there are a number of parallels between what happened here and what took place on the same day in New Orleans. Both incidents, of course, taking place on New Year's Day, both involving members of the military who were born in the United States. We also know from law enforcement that both men used the same service, a company called Turo, to rent the vehicles that were involved in these attacks. While law enforcement officials say that the attack in New Orleans was an act of terrorism, they're not saying that that was necessarily the case here. Here in

Las Vegas, the attack is being investigated as an entirely separate incident. The motive remains unclear. But one official on Thursday did say that it's not lost on authorities that this attack took place in front of a Trump property and involved a Tesla vehicle. The FBI is asking for leads and so far they say they've gotten hundreds of tips. Lily Jamali. The Israeli military has confirmed that it has detained the head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, despite earlier saying it had not. Last week the army said it was interrogating Dr. Hussam Abu Safiha because it suspected

him of terrorism. The Israeli military said a previous statement that it was not holding him may have been down to human error. Emir Nader reports from Jerusalem. In a statement to the BBC, the Israeli military has said that Dr. Abu Safiyah is currently being investigated by Israeli security forces in person. Yesterday, Physicians for Human Rights Israel said the military had told them they had no information of the arrest or detention of the well-known doctor. Today's military

statement doesn't offer an explanation for the confusion but repeats that he is suspected of being a terrorist and for holding a rank in Hamas. Dr. Abu Safi'a was last seen walking into a tank in footage released by the Israeli military of the day it forcibly closed Kamal Adwan Hospital on the basis of it being an alleged stronghold to the Hamas militant group. Physicians for Human Rights Israel say the doctor's case is part of a pattern of non-disclosure and unreliable information provided by the Israeli authorities regarding Palestinian detainees. Emi Enadah. Australians are used to living with dangerous animals. Its forests are home to many of the world's most poisonous snakes and spiders and more than a hundred thousand

saltwater crocodiles roam in the rivers of the Northern Territory. While croc attacks are rare, in 2024 a young girl was killed by a crocodile. It was the first fatal attack in the territory in six years. And it reignited the debate over culling. So just how many is too many crocs? Our Australia correspondent Katie Watson reports from Darwin. It's 5 AM. The sun's not up yet.

And we're on a speedboat with two government rangers. Today's mission, checking some of the 24 crocodile traps in Darwin Harbour. This is a place where people come fishing, even swimming, and so the idea is to remove saltwater crocodiles that have come too close to the city. Looks like the door's down on this one, so there could be a possible crocodile in this trap. So we'll just get up close and I'll have a look at it. Okay, so there is one in there.

There is one? Yeah. So the trap's about, what, five metres long and they're hard mesh with two tubes alongside of them to keep them floating. And at one end there's bait which is feral pig. The other end with a string attached is a trap door so when they go for the bait that door closes. It's not an easy job. They secure the croc with a noose around its jaws, leading it out of the trap and then winching it out of the water. feeding it out of the trap and then winching it out of the water. They take the mouth tightly shut and the legs. Once on board, they lie there on the floor

next to our feet. Whoa, that's a big tail. Guinness me. One of the crocodiles just like flipped its tail and they're pretty strong and my seat happens to be right next to their heads. These saltwater crocodiles or salties as they're known here will be culled because otherwise there's a high chance they'll return to the harbour. Kelly Ewen is one of the rangers working in the croc management team. It's our job to try and keep people as safe as we can. Obviously we're not going to

capture every crocodile but the more we take out of the harbour the less risk there's going to be an encounter with crocodiles and people. Ready? One, two, three. This is all part of the Northern Territory's crocodile management plan for the more than 100,000 crocs that live in the wild here and they've recently raised the number they're allowed to cull each year to control the population. It's a turnaround from the 1970s, which saw the population dwindle to just 3,000. Now, salties aren't even threatened anymore.

Graham Webb is one of Australia's most renowned croc experts. People criticise us because they don't like necessarily the way we are so pragmatic about management. We've done what very few people can do, which is take a very serious predator and rebuild their numbers back to what they were historically and then manage them in such a way that the public is prepared to put up with them. You gotta be croc wise if you're hanging near the water. Keep a sharp eye on your son and daughter. If you're fish from a boat, keep away from the side because the crocodile's mouth is going to open up wide. The government also goes into schools with its education programme, Be Croc Wise.

It's been such a success that other countries are now looking to borrow it. A saltwater croc that's maybe two metre to maybe two and a half, anything bigger, if you're in the water or near the water and they get hold of you, your chance of survival is near zero. Natasha Hoffman is a ranger running the Bee Crocwise Programme. We've got to respect they live here, they're very important to our environment, but we also, a lot of people love fishing, so if you're going fishing, look at things such as using a net to get your fish out of the water.

They're very intelligent at what they do, They are an ambush hunter. They sit watch and wait. So if the opportunity is there for them to grab some food that is what they are going to do. That report was by Katie Watson. Still to come on the Global News Podcast. The monument has only been there for a year but ultimately the Barbadians have really found a new comfort with it. A monument that acknowledges black national heroes is really significant. How Barbados is using public art to redefine its cultural identity after becoming a republic.

For just as long as Hollywood has been Tinseltown, there have been suspicions about what lurks behind the glitz and glamour. Concerns about radical propaganda in the motion pictures. And for a while, those suspicions grew into something much bigger and much darker. Are you a member of the Communist Party? Or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? I'm Una Chaplin and this is Hollywood Exiles.

It's about a battle for the political soul of America and the battlefield was Hollywood. All episodes of Hollywood Exiles from the BBC World Service and CBC are available now. Search for Hollywood Exiles wherever you get your podcasts. The Venezuelan government has offered a $100,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of the man who claims to have won the country's presidential election last July. Edmundo Gonzalez fled Venezuela for exile in Spain after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest on conspiracy charges. He ran against Nicolas Maduro, who is due to be sworn in for a third term next week. President Maduro was declared winner

by a government-controlled electoral commission amid allegations of electoral fraud. Our Americas regional editor Leonardo Rocha gave his assessment of the fraud. Our America's regional editor Leonardo Roscia gave his assessment of the timing of the government's announcement. We have the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro. He's going to be inaugurating to a third term next Friday in a week's time and I think it's a message for the opposition candidate telling him don't try to come back. If you do, we're going to arrest you. I'm saying that because Edmundo Gonzalez said a few weeks ago, a couple of months ago,

that he was planning to go back to Caracas. Took everyone by surprise for the inauguration ceremony, but not for Maduro's inauguration ceremony. He was going to come back to claim the presidency. What the Venezuelan opposition say is that they won the election by a wide margin. They have provided what seems to be clear evidence of that. It was accepted by many countries, including the countries in the European Union and the United States, proving that they won the election.

Nicolas Maduro was declared a winner by a government-appointed election commission, but he never published the breakdown of the vote, and many countries refused to accept. One of the main allies of President Maduro in South America, President Lula of Brazil, for example, sort of broke off with him. So he's not going to attend the ceremony in Venezuela next week. He's going to send his ambassador. Other countries that are very loyal to him will be there like Cuba, Nicaragua, which is of the hardcore of the left in Latin America. But many people including those were left-wing allies have distanced themselves from him. Leonardo Rocha.

To Syria now and the question of what sort of country will emerge from the dramatic uprising that saw the Assad dynasty toppled after more than half a century. That's on the mind of every Syrian but it's also a question for Western governments. Some have taken in large numbers of Syrian refugees and are thinking about whether to lift sanctions now President Assad is gone. But they're worried about Syria's new Islamist leadership under the group HTS or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham with its al-Qaeda origins. The foreign ministers of France and Germany have visited Damascus for talks with the new authorities.

Our correspondent in the Syrian capital, Lina Sinjab, told the BBC's James Menendez about those discussions. There is, you know, views of excitement that the world is coming back to Syria and acknowledging this new change but also are hoping that these new governments focus on lifting sanctions. The country has been really crippled by economic sanctions, 90 percent of the population under the poverty line. So coming, having money coming in for aid, for rebuilding the country is very important. But as important as well, many people are wanting these governments to ensure that the new leadership here in Syria does not abolish their rights that will apply democracy and

will work on the constitution that is inclusive of the whole Syrian society. However, you know, some other people that I've met who met with the Europeans before going to the meeting with HTS also had some other views to share. I think that we need to decolonize these relationships. It's time to come from a different perspective. We don't need them to facilitate the relationship between Syrians and government. Mr. Al-Shar'a is a Syrian from Horaan. We can speak to him as Syrians together. We don't agree. We disagree.

It's time for democracy. And we need to be very careful about protecting this new civic space. Yes. And what are the signs on that? I mean, is HTS prepared, I mean, not just to talk to all groups, but bring them into government? I think there are lots of meetings taking place between different groups, whether official opposition, new emerging groups, artists, writers, you know, there are lots of meetings with members of the HTS, but the question is not those meetings, it's the delivery.

Mr. Al-Sharaa, when he's talking, he is giving assurances to everyone that this is going to be a government representing of all society, it's going to be open and inclusive, but his government that he has appointed, the way they're acting, they're not acting as a government of an interim government, they're acting as if they are in charge, they have the sole decision and they're making decisions on behalf of the whole society. Like the issue of the curricula that the changes were focused on, you know, focusing on Islamic background for the curricula and something that is really worrying people, women's rights and many other things. So people are out and about trying to say we don't want to be reactive to what they

they say. We want to be proactive in asserting our rights. We're not going to go into another form of dictatorship. We are here to speak our minds and enforce them. Lina Sinjab in Damascus. What's being described as the first movie of the universe will be made possible this year. We'll be able to take images of the entire night sky all at the same time and it is because of the installation of a digital camera alongside one of the world's biggest telescopes on top of a mountain range in Chile in South America. Professor Catherine Hayman's Astronomer Royal for Scotland explains how it works. This is an absolute beast of a camera.

It has two Guinness World Records. It is about the size of a small car. And the lens in the camera is the same height as an average woman. So this is an absolutely huge camera. To display a single image that we take with this camera, you would need 400 ultra high definition televisions all in a grid to be able to see a single one of these images and we're going to be taking a

thousand of these images every night on repeat over 10 years to build up this movie of the universe. I'm seeing how things change from night to night. And we're going to be releasing up to 10 million alerts every night to tell people what's changing out there in the universe. It could be asteroids and comets moving in our solar system. It could be stars pulsating in our own galaxy and beyond. Supernova explosions, dying stars, and even changes in black holes in galaxies across the universe. So it's a phenomenal new facility and this is the first time we've ever looked at the universe in this way, looking at how it's changing from night to night across the whole night sky. We're learning about our own solar system, looking to see if there are any asteroids that could

potentially one day hit planet Earth. Hopefully we won't find any of that. But because we've got 10 years worth of data that we're going to be collecting, we're also going to be building up this really, really deep image of the universe, which is going to allow us to confront really big questions about what our universe is made up of. What is the dark matter, the strong gravitational force in our universe? What is causing the expansion of our universe to accelerate something that we call dark energy? And this amazing new instrument, this big new camera on the Vera Rubin Observatory,

is going to allow us to answer all of these different questions. Professor Catherine Hayman's Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Three years ago, Barbados officially removed the then British monarch Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and became a republic, the first nation to do so in nearly 30 years. The present King Charles attended the ceremony where he acknowledged the appalling atrocity of slavery the Caribbean island had suffered during centuries of British colonial rule. But for many in Barbados this is not enough. They want to see economic reparations as well. From Barbados, here's Will Grant.

Queen Elizabeth's fifth visit to Barbados in 1989 was to celebrate the 350th anniversary of its parliament, a largely ceremonial trip which, it would turn out, was her last as the island's head of state. Fast forward to midnight on 30th November 2021 and her son, the then Prince of Wales, was in Bridgetown to see Barbados become a republic, the first nation to do so in almost 30 years. I'm in National Heroes Square in Bridgetown, what was until recently called Trafalgar Square, complete with a monument to Lord Nelson.

That was taken down, and in its place has been erected the monument to the Barbadan family. Reimagining this square and rebuilding it is a vital part to the new understanding of Barbados' place in the world. Today the Parliament building is undergoing restoration work, But instead of being surrounded by ugly temporary fencing, the parliament invited school children and local artists to paint murals on it under the title Barbados and What It Means to Me. So we created the flower from plastic bottles. We used a heat gun to melt it down to make

it in the shape of the flower. And then we put some orange acrylic paint on it. I draw cricket because it's a national sport of Barbados. You can see we have the stumps and then we have a man hitting the ball. I love it. I think it's so good. And guys, it's an interesting idea, isn't it, that you're painting part of the Parliament building? It's great for young people to know about the history of Barbados and what the

Parliament building was there for and how long it was here for. So my name is Evan McDonald. I am an emerging artist in Barbados. That situation with Trafalgar Square at the Lord Nelson statue was so controversial. The monument has only been there for a year but ultimately Barbadians and locals alike have really found like a new comfort with it. A monument that acknowledges Black national heroes is really significant, especially replacing a monument like Laura Coratio Nelson. You know, we were under British rule for well over 350 years.

And so the opportunity to now chart our own path of Barbados that we want completely from the minds of Barbadians. I believe I'm in the forefront of the struggle and the call for reparations. Member of Parliament, Trevor Prescott, is in charge of taking these debates over the exploitation of the island's colonial past to their logical conclusion. He's the Prime Minister's special envoy for reparations and economic enfranchisement. I'm supportive of the call for reparations and economic enfranchisement. I'm supportive of the call for reparations. Now, we're making calls on governments, local governments.

We also have to examine international treaties. We have to examine all laws. We've been able to repeal some of the legislation and refresh the legislation. Guilt alone won't be enough, will it? I mean, if there are people who have become extremely wealthy and companies and obviously governments, do you think they will need to be legally forced to make reparations in the next coming years?

There are lots of people frightened for the word reparations. Some persons who will be great beneficiaries of wealth as a result of slavery and colonialism, they'll be living such an affluent life, they don't want to give up part of it. Although some of the subs that we are talking about, they will not affect the quality of life. In the meantime, the people who have made major sacrifices and people who have been considered to be chattel slaves, these people are living in abject poverty. It's not going to be like a light switch that you turn it on and turn it off. It's going to be a very gradual process.

That report was by Will Grant. And that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast later on. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Volodymyr Muzychka and the producer was Chantal Hardall.

The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Nick Miles and until next time, goodbye. For just as long as Hollywood has been Tinseltown, there have been suspicions about what lurks behind the glitz and glamour. Concerns about radical propaganda in the motion pictures. And for a while, those suspicions grew into something much bigger and much darker. Are you a member of the Communist Party?

Or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? I'm Una Chaplin, and this is Hollywood Exiles. It's about a battle for the political soul of America and the battlefield was Hollywood. All episodes of Hollywood Exiles from the BBC World Service and CBC are available now. Search for Hollywood Exiles wherever you get your podcasts.