The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 15th, 2025: Impeached South Korean President Arrested & The Threats Facing Trump's Inauguration

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   Today, we’ll begin in South Korea, where impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested as the fallout continues from his shock martial law decree last month. Then, we’ll continue our coverage of the security preparations going into President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration, particularly in light of a threat assessment warning about the myriad risks facing the event, including from Iran. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion-dollar swings. There's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Hey there, Mike Baker checking in. I'm still deep in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. We're making solid progress, thanks to the camels and a terrific support team. Meanwhile, Mike Slater is filling in to make sure you stay informed. And don't forget, Stay safe and cool.

Thanks, Mike. It's Wednesday, 15 January 2025. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Slater from Politics by Faith and Sirius XM Patriot. Let's get briefed. Today, we'll begin in South Korea, where impeached president Yun Suk Yule has been arrested as the fallout continues from his shock martial law decree last month. Do you remember that? Later in the show, we'll continue our coverage of the security preparations going into

President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration on Monday. particularly in light of a threat assessment warning about the myriad risks facing the event, including for Iran. The first, today's afternoon spotlight. South Korea's impeached president, Yuk Suu Yun, was arrested Wednesday after an hours-long standoff at his fortified presidential residence, marking a historic turn in the country's ongoing political crisis. Yun, the first sitting South Korean president to be detained, declared martial law last month

in a controversial bid to counter what he described as a, quote, anti-state opposition. His brief imposition of martial law, which deployed troops around parliament, was overturned by lawmakers who later voted to impeach him on 14 December, stripping him of his presidential powers. Eun's arrest followed weeks of political turmoil and his refusal to leave the presidential compound in Seoul. The operation to detain Eune involved over a thousand officers from the National Police Agency and the corruption investigation office for high-ranking officials who led the raid against to Yun's presidential security forces. After hours of standoff, officers breached the compound using wirecutters and ladders to scale barricades. Youen was escorted from the residents and a convoy

of black SUVs. His departure was met with chance from hundreds of his supporters, condemning the detention is unlawful. Yun was questioned for over 10 hours at the CIA headquarters before being transferred to a detention center near Seoul. The charges against him, stemming from his martial law declaration, include rebellion, a grave offense under South Korean law that carries possibility of life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The CIA now has 48 hours to request a court order for Yun's formal arrest. Without it, he must be released. Should the order be granted, prosecutors will have up to 20 days to prepare an indictment. In a video recorded before his arrest, Yun denounced the investigation,

asserting that the quote, rule of law has completely collapsed in South Korea. His legal team challenged the validity of the detention warrant, citing legal protections for military secrets, which covers the president, and questioning the CIA's jurisdiction over rebellion charges. In a separate video posted to Facebook after he was detained, Eun stated martial law is not a crime and that his declaration was necessary to combat what he described as a, quote, legislative dictatorship by opposition party lawmakers blocking his policies. The warrant issued by the sole Western District Court, however, described Ewan as the, quote, ringleader of a rebellion.

The arrest sent shockwaves through South Korea's political landscape, South Korea's acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choise Sang Mok, met with diplomats from the U.S. and other G7 nations, including a representative of the EU, aiming to reassure international partners of the government's stability. Ewan's political allies, including members of his People Power Party, condemned the arrest as a politically motivated attack, while opposition leaders argue that his actions warrant the harshest penalties. Already several high-ranking officials, Uun's defense minister, police chief, top military commanders, have been detained for their role in enforcing.

martial law. As South Korea remains deeply divided, the Constitutional Court is now tasked with this citing whether to remove Ewan from office permanently or reinstate him with the next hearing scheduled for Thursday. Coming up next, ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, U.S. intelligence agencies have issued a threat assessment warning of risks from foreign terrorists, including Iran and domestic terrorists. More on that after the break. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Slater, filling in for Mike Baker. I want return to our coverage of President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration on Monday. As U.S. intelligence agencies warned, the event could attract wide-ranging threats, including from the Mullahs of Iran.

As we discussed on yesterday's program, there's no known specific threats against the president-elect or Washington, D.C. at this time. But authorities have said the ceremony remains, quote, an attractive potential target for violent extremists, both foreign and domestic. According to a threat assessment from a group of intelligence and law enforcement and agencies, potential perpetrators with election-related grievances may see the inauguration as their, quote, last opportunity to influence the election results through violence. The threat assessment, which has not been made public, but was reviewed by Politica, outlines a myriad of potential scenarios that officials are preparing for ahead of the ceremony. The nightmare scenarios range from bomb hoaxes, swatting calls, drone flights, or vehicle ramming attacks that could be carried

out by foreign terrorists, domestic terrorists, or lone wolves. Of course, the nation is still really from the ISIS-inspired New Year's Day truck-ramming attack in New Orleans, as well as the cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, both of which prompted officials to further tighten security for the upcoming inauguration. But another major concern is Iran. As our listeners know, the Mullis have been engaged in a year-long effort to assassinate Trump and members of his first administration over the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020. While Iranian leaders have denied the plots, given the two assassination attempts against Trump during the tumultuous campaign season, authorities remain on high alert. The threat assessment points to a video released by Iran's Islamic

Revolutionary Guard Corps in the immediate aftermath of Trump's election victory, threatening to kill the president-elect. Uploaded to their telegram account, the video ended with footage of a bloody to Trump, and the words, quote, we will finish the job. Intelligence officials said the post-prompted assassination threats against Trump from some 700,000 users on the social media app. Even if Iran is not planning to orchestrate their own plot, officials appear concerned that they're rhetoric could inspire a lone wolf to act. In addition to foreign threats, law enforcement also concerned that the widespread protest expected during the inauguration could turn violent, noting that many of the groups that have applied for permits have arranged previous demonstrations that

ended in arrests. They're particularly anxious about protests related to the conflict in Gaza, and that the war could inspire extremists residing stateside. Taken together, authorities say the security risks facing Trump's inauguration on Monday are historically unprecedented. John Cohen, a former counterterrorism official who helped plan President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration, told Politico, quote, as I sit here today, based on the work I've been doing with law enforcement for the past four years, the threat environment today is even more volatile and more dangerous than it was in 2021. But officials say they're more than up to the task of securing the event. Some 25,000 police officers and 7,800 National Guard soldiers will be deployed in

the Capitol for Monday ceremony, and they'll be aided by teams from two FBI field offices and a flee of drones that will be monitoring the security situation from the sky. And that is today's PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday, 15 January. To listen to the show ad-free, you can become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com. I'm Mike Slater from the podcast, Politics by Faith, also Sirius XM Patriot. My handle is Slater Radio on Twitter and Instagram. We'll be back tomorrow.

Until then, stay safe and spread the word.