South Korean president to face weekend impeachment vote

Good morning. In today’s newsletter we’re covering:

• South Korea’s impeachment showdown

• HSBC’s leadership changes

• Macron’s vow not to step aside

We start with the latest on South Korea’s political turmoil, as President Yoon Suk Yeol faces an impeachment vote this weekend after his failed attempt to impose martial law.

Opposition lawmakers, who have a parliamentary majority, have submitted an impeachment motion to the National Assembly and sought a Saturday vote.

However Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon’s ruling People Power party, said yesterday he opposed impeachment. Eight PPP members would probably have to vote in favour of impeachment for a motion to succeed. If a motion is passed, it must then be approved by the country’s Constitutional Court.

Opposition leaders have conceded they face an uphill battle convincing ruling party lawmakers to cross the political divide and support impeachment. But they also argued that Yoon violated the constitution and other laws in his failed attempt to impose emergency rule.

Thousands of South Koreans have braved sub-zero temperatures over the past two nights to call for Yoon to stand down, and one protester told the FT: “If [Yoon] doesn’t get impeached, all Koreans will take to the streets to protest.” Here’s more on the impeachment vote and Yoon’s chances of survival.

• More from Seoul: The South Korean army general who was put in charge of a sudden declaration of martial law told parliament yesterday that he had only learnt about the move when Yoon announced it on national television.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• Economic data: Vietnam and Thailand publish November inflation data. China on Saturday reports monthly trade data.

• Monetary policy: India’s central bank announces its interest rate decision.

• Romania election: Ahead of a presidential run-off vote on Sunday, Romania accused Russia of a co-ordinated campaign to benefit the pro-Putin frontrunner Călin Georgescu.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. HSBC chief executive Georges Elhedery has announced the latest set of leadership changes as part of his plan to restructure and simplify the bank. The moves include the departure of its private banking head. 

2. French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed not to step aside before the end of his term, saying opposition parties “chose chaos” by bringing down his premier in a historic no-confidence vote. Macron’s term runs until 2027, but he is facing rising pressure from opposition groups to step down early.

3. Warren Lichtenstein, the US financier who rocked Tokyo’s stock market in the mid-2000s with a spree of hostile takeover attempts, is considering a return to investing in Japan. His potential return after an absence of more than a decade would underscore the big changes in recent years in Japan’s corporate landscape.

4. Detectives in New York are investigating inscriptions on bullet casings left at the scene of the murder of the UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson, according to a person familiar with the case. The words “deny”, “defend” and “depose” were inscribed on the bullet casings — a potential reference to a book looking at how large health insurers avoid paying claims. Read the full story.

5. A US judge rejected Boeing’s guilty plea stemming from twin crashes of the 737 Max, citing diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in selecting a monitor to oversee compliance with the agreement. The ruling injects a culture war issue into one of the most significant corporate criminal prosecutions in US history.

• ‘Anti-woke’ ETF: A new fund aiming to punish “woke” companies will make Starbucks its first target, as politically motivated investors move to capitalise on Donald Trump’s election.

News in-depth

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• Green leadership: Past decades have shown the US is not a reliable partner in global climate policy. Now, only China can lead on the issue, writes Adam Tooze.

• US-China chip war: With its immediate retaliation to Washington’s tech sanctions, China has signalled a new willingness to confront the US.

• Artificial intelligence: As big AI companies prepare to deploy AI agents, some start-ups founders are talking about creating zero-employee autonomous companies.

Chart of the day

Donald Trump, a self-described “Tariff Man”, will find import taxes a clumsy and often ineffective way of asserting American power, writes Alan Beattie. The US just isn’t that big in global trade any more, and the rise of the Asian consumer pushed the US share of worldwide goods imports down to just 15.9 per cent last year.

Take a break from the news

Our critics share their six films to watch this week, including Rumours. Cate Blanchett channels Angela Merkel in this absurdist comedy where the leaders of the G7 nations confront a zombie apocalypse.