South Korea is carrying out one of the most far-reaching reforms of its modern legal history. It is abolishing the powerful 78-year-old Prosecutors’ Office and separating the roles of investigator and prosecutor in an effort to curb abuses and restore public trust. Jaewoong Yoon analyzes why the shakeup is deemed necessary, why it has been so long in coming, and the challenges ahead.
The standoff between the two governments on either side of the Taiwan Strait has now lasted for 76 years. Elizabeth Chien-Hale, a daughter of Taiwan, writes that this is longer than her own lifetime and asks: why isn’t anyone working toward a peace agreement?
The US retreat from its longstanding role as a champion of free trade has created new vulnerabilities for its longtime partners. But for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, there may be silver linings. Tan Hsien-Li writes that ASEAN is doubling down on its commitment to a rules-based international order, pursuing new trade agreements and taking steps to fulfill its vision of a resilient single market and production base.
December 21 - December 27
China’s legislature revises the Foreign Trade Law to strengthen IP protection and revises the Civil Aviation Law to begin formally regulating drones; Japan’s Cabinet approves a record defense budget plan as tensions with China rise; South Korea’s National Assembly approves legislation requiring two Seoul courts to create specialized panels to handle future cases involving rebellion, treason, and foreign subversion; Taiwan’s opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan approves a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Lai Ching-te as its constitutional crisis deepens.
December 14 - December 20
Chinese-controlled TikTok says it has signed agreements with three new investors to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States; a Hong Kong court convicts the former publisher of Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai, of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and conspiring to print seditious articles; about 450 plaintiffs sue Japan's central government for what they called its constitutionally insufficient response to climate change; a South Korean special counsel says former President Yoon Suk-yeol began preparing to impose martial law as early as October 2023; five of Taiwan’s Constitutional Court justices declare unconstitutional amendments to the court’s own procedural rules that have paralyzed it for nearly a year.
Program on International Law & Relations in Asia
