The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 15th, 2025: Impeached South Korean President Arrested & The Threats Facing Trump's Inauguration
Wed, 15 Jan 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
Chapter 1: What happened with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yool?
Thanks, Mike. It's Wednesday, 15 January 2025. Welcome back to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Slater from Politics by Faith and SiriusXM Patriot. Let's get briefed. Today, we'll begin in South Korea, where impeached President Yoon Suk-yool 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. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
Chapter 2: What led to the arrest of Yoon Suk-yool?
South Korea's impeached president, Yook Sool-yoon, was arrested Wednesday after an hours-long standoff at his fortified presidential residence, marking a historic turn in the country's ongoing political crisis. Yoon, 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. Yoon's arrest followed weeks of political turmoil and his refusal to leave the presidential compound in Seoul.
The operation to detain Yoon involved over 1,000 officers from the National Police Agency and the Corruption Investigation Office for high-ranking officials who led the raid against Yoon's presidential security forces. After hours of standoff, officers breached the compound using wire cutters and ladders to scale barricades. Yoon was escorted from the residence in a convoy of black SUVs.
Chapter 3: What are the charges against Yoon Suk-yool?
His departure was met with chants from hundreds of his supporters condemning the detention as unlawful. Yoon was questioned for over 10 hours at the CIO 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 CIO now has 48 hours to request a court order for Yoon'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, Yoon 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 CIO's jurisdiction over rebellion charges.
In a separate video posted to Facebook after he was detained, Yoon 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 Seoul Western District Court, however, described Yoon as the, quote, ringleader of a rebellion.
Chapter 4: What is the current political situation in South Korea?
The arrest sent shockwaves through South Korea's political landscape. South Korea's acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi 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.
Yoon's political allies, including members of his People Power Party, condemned the arrest as a politically motivated attack, while opposition leaders argued that his actions warrant the harshest penalties. Already, several high-ranking officials—Yoon'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 deciding whether to remove Yoon 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.
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Chapter 5: What threats are facing Trump's inauguration?
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Welcome back to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Slater filling in for Mike Baker. I want to 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.
Chapter 6: How are U.S. intelligence agencies preparing for the inauguration?
According to a threat assessment from a group of intelligence and law enforcement 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 Politico, 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 reeling 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 mullahs have been engaged in a years-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 bloodied 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 their rhetoric could inspire a lone wolf to act.
In addition to foreign threats, law enforcement is also concerned that the widespread protests 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.
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