In this episode, Jeongmin, John and Joon Ha discuss South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s ongoing martial law trial, where military commanders have given conflicting testimonies about whether Yoon ordered troops to detain opposition lawmakers and close the National Assembly.

The team also breaks down the Constitutional Court’s ruling against Acting President Choi Sang-mok’s truncated judicial appointments, a decision welcomed by the Democratic Party and criticized by the ruling People Power Party. While Choi has acknowledged the ruling, he insists that a bipartisan agreement is necessary before finalizing the last judicial appointment.

On the economic front, China has retaliated against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs by imposing export controls on tungsten and other rare earth metals essential for semiconductor production.

Meanwhile, South Korean government ministries have banned the use of DeepSeek’s R1 LLM on official computers, citing security concerns, aligning with similar measures taken by the U.S. government.

In diplomacy, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich, marking the first high-level U.S.-ROK engagement under the new Trump administration. This meeting follows a flurry of U.S.-Japan diplomatic interactions, including an upcoming summit between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Finally, South Korea’s industry ministry has confirmed that while oil and gas reserves likely exist under the East Sea, there is little evidence to suggest they are economically viable — affirming long-standing expert assessments.

About the podcast: The Korea Pro Podcast is a weekly 15-minute conversation hosted by Editorial Director Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) and Editor John Lee (@koreanforeigner), diving deep into the most pressing stories shaping South Korea — and dissecting the most complicated ones for professionals monitoring ROK politics, diplomacy, culture, society and technology. Uploaded every Friday.

This episode was recorded on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.

Audio edited by Gaby Magnuson