The deepening polarization in South Korean politics triggered a constitutional crisis last December when President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law out of frustration with the opposition-controlled National Assembly. Eungi Hong writes that when the South Korean Constitutional Court upheld President Yoon’s impeachment, it sought to bridge the deep political divides and remind all citizens in clear, accessible language what it means to have a democracy. She also provides an unofficial English translation of the full court decision.
China’s legal service sector is growing rapidly, including not only commercial law offices but publicly funded legal aid. In this Feb. 21, 2025 talk at NYU Law School, Hualing Fu, dean of the law faculty at the University of Hong Kong and visiting professor at NYU Law, shares his research into the emerging new sector of “public legal services,” in which the government funds lawyers to resolve social disputes at an early stage. Dean Fu argues that pro bono work in China can serve as a tool of political control, allowing the government to frame disputes in its preferred terms and ensure they are resolved quickly, without any group mobilization.
Bruce Aronson, senior advisor at the USALI Japan Center, tells Japan Times that talk of the US government holding a “golden share” in a possible Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel partnership is not meaningful without more detail about the proposed deal structure.
May 25, 2025-May 31, 2025
China and Japan report progress in talks to lift China’s ban on importing Japanese seafood; Hong Kong hosts a signing ceremony for the new treaty-based International Organization for Mediation; a Japanese court orders the government to compensate three businessmen wrongly accused of exporting goods capable of producing biological weapons; the front-runner in South Korea’s presidential election campaign proposes amending the constitution to make it harder to impose martial law; Taiwan’s Executive Yuan finalizes a controversial set of proposed legal and administrative measures designed to counter Chinese infiltration.
May 18, 2025-May 24, 2025
China’s Private Economy Protection Law takes effect; Hong Kong journalists say the city’s tax authorities are targeting independent news outlets for audits; US President Donald Trump announces his approval of a partnership between Japan’s Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel that appears to still be in negotiation; prosecutors in Taiwan accuse local leaders of the opposition Nationalist (KMT) Party of fraud in collecting signatures for recall elections of Democratic Progressive Party legislators.
Program on International Law & Relations in Asia
