impeachment proceedings have now begun, and in the last hour the ruling party's leader han dong—hoon this comes after yoon�*s controversial martial law declaration nearly two weeks ago. but james kim from the the american chamber of commerce in korea believes this uncertainty is not a cause for concern for investors and businesses just yet. obviously, on saturday, the people have spoken. the national assembly fully supported this motion of the people. and i really believe that as we decouple the politics from the business side, i think that korea is in a very, very good place today. obviously, the acting president had significant experience and is bipartisan. i believe that during this process, he would help to guide the country to proper confidence and would really help us to guide the country to the next steps. the korean wan — country to the next steps. the korean wan and _ country to the next steps. the korean wan and the _ country to the next steps. the korean wan and the volatility must have impacted your members, as have the union strikes ever since the crisis a couple of week

han dong—hun�*s comments suggest a change in the people power party's position — a day earlier it opposedmpeachment of president yoon over his imposition of martial law. parliament is set to vote on saturday on whether president yoon suk—yeol should be impeached. the opposition parties are currently holding meetings of their own. the country's largest labour group — the kctu, which has over1 million members — has called for indefinite industrial action until the current administration steps down. there have been sporadic protests around south korea, ahead of an impeachment vote on saturday evening. i speaker earlier to former trade minister yeo han—koo. he reacted to the change in the ruling party's position. i think this is a very dramatic situation. i understand that until last night the ruling party was a sort of united, opposing to the possible impeachment but with this sudden change of position by the ruling party leader, i think this could really plunge the ruling party into further turmoil. , ., ., turmoil. tell us more about the lanned turmoil. tell us more about the planned strik

meanwhile, the leader of the ruling people power party, han dong—hoon, has said that he will step downs party break from their party line to vote in favour of impeachment. he said it had become impossible to carry out his duties as party chief.

you mentioned the leader of the ruling people power party, han dong—hoon, he has withdrawn his support. he met with the president earlier. according to media reports here, han said that he had urged yoon to address the public. the president has not made any public appearance or statement since he withdrew that declaration of martial law on wednesday. apparently yoon has declined to make any comments, saying it was not time yet. well if the president isn't going to speak, we know the protesters will make their voices heard, as we can hear now. they're set to hold a rally, tens of thousands are expected on the streets tomorrow, that is all leading up tomorrow, that is all leading up to this impeachment vote thatis up to this impeachment vote that is scheduled for 7pm tomorrow. we are going to get the thoughts of our asia correspondent. there has been talk behind closed doors, are we nearer a talk behind closed doors, are we nearer _ talk behind closed doors, are we nearer a solutionsome? we are heading — we nearer a solutionsome? we are heading for— we nearer a solutionsome? we are headi

meanwhile, the leader of the ruling people power party, han dong—hoon, has said that he will step downachment vote on saturday saw an estimated 12 members of his party break from their party line to vote in favour of impeachment. he said it had become impossible to carry out his duties as party chief. let's get more on the latest developments from our seoul correspondent jean mackenzie. great to have you on the programme. how is the mood in seoul this morning after the weekend's events?- seoul this morning after the weekend's events? things here this morning — weekend's events? things here this morning feel— weekend's events? things here this morning feel as _ weekend's events? things here this morning feel as if - weekend's events? things here this morning feel as if they - this morning feel as if they are returning to normal and there is an awful lot of relief amongst people here that at least we have some certainty now, some clarity moving forward. i think people were concerned that if he wasn't impeached on saturday, these protest were going to continue every single weekend, every

the party chair, han dong—hoon, said the president would resign early, and until then would not be involvedonal for the ruling party to continue running the country and pledged to hold another impeachment vote later this week. to talk more about this political crisis in south korea i am joined now by professor yong—chool ha who is the director of korean studies at the university of washington. professor, what do you think is likely to happen next? you have written about his style of leadership and how it explains his decision to impose martial law, can you talk us through that? thank you for the invitation was basically, he is a very unique politician and a sense that he had not had any political experience prior to being elected three years ago as president. he was a well—known prosecutor who resisted political pressure which made him very famous. then this time around we can see how strong his legal minded person he is and even after the failed martial law, he even said that his people that there is nothing wrong but ultimately he admitted his own mistakes or failures and decided to leave

you mentioned that the leader of the ruling people power party, han dong—hoon.his support for president yoon. he did that this morning, and he's actually met with president as well a little earlier. now, according to media reports we've been following here, han said that he had urged yoon to personally address the public. now, the president hasn't made any public appearance or any public statements since he withdrew that declaration of martial law in the early hours of wednesday. but apparently yoon has reportedly declined to make any comments today, saying it was not time yet. well, if the president isn't going to speak, we know that the protesters are certainly going to make their voices heard as we can hear right now, and they're all set to hold a very big rally. tens of thousands of people are expected on the streets of seoul tomorrow at around 1:00. and that's all leading up to this impeachment vote that is currently scheduled for 7pm tomorrow, though it could happen earlier as well. now, we're going to get the thoughts of our asia correspondent, rupert win

the party chair, han dong—hoon, said the president would resign early and until then would not be involved party to continue running the country and pledged to hold another impeachment vote early next week. i'm joined now by stephen haggard, director emeritus for the korea—pacific program at the university of california san diego. many thanks for your time on the programme. i mean, there has been talk of treason but it looks like yoon has avoided impeachment for now. what do you expect to happen next? the im ortant you expect to happen next? tue: important thing you expect to happen next? tte: important thing to understand about this vote is it is a quorum issue. the ruling party actuallyjust didn't quorum issue. the ruling party actually just didn't show quorum issue. the ruling party actuallyjust didn't show up. so what we don't know yet is what the divisions are within the president's vempati and how many of those legislators may ultimately be willing to defect, and my sense from looking back at the park and carry case in her impeachment in 2017 at some part the party will split —— park

the about-face from ruling party leader han dong-hoon makes suspending yoon from office more likely. resident poses a "great danger" to the country. >> the president is not even admitting that it was wrong to declare martial law. therefore, if president yoon suk yeol is allowed to continue running the government affairs, there is a significant risk of extreme actions, like reattempting to impose martial law. geoff: with chance of "step down," many south koreans have joined the growing chorus of officials in calling for yoon's removal, taking to the streets for a third straight night. impeaching president yoon would require two-thirds of the national assembly. they're set to vote on his fate tomorrow. the u.s. job market bounced back in november from a major slowdown the month before. the economy added 227,000 jobs, far more than october's revised total of only 36,000, when two hurricanes and worker strikes held job creation down. just three job categories, health care, hospitality, and government, accounted for 70% of november's growth. and, the unemployment rate rose, but only slight

han dong—hoon says "there is a significant risk that extreme actions similar to the martial law declaration his impeachment, and in the next 2a hours, a vote will be held in the national assembly, which is just a few hundred metres from here. now, today, we've heard some extraordinary accounts of the night that he declared martial law. we have heard from the leader of his own party, who said that he had to be removed for the safety of the republic of korea. he said that he's seen new evidence that president yoon had planned to round up the members of parliament and have them detained in a prison. we've also heard from the intelligence services that president yoon had given orders to round up the members of parliament to tie up loose ends. now, this relates to the fact that this is a president who is was desperately trying to grip onto power. deeply unpopular and struggling to gain the support of his own party, it does seem, given the evidence that we've heard, that he wanted to somehow use martial law to overrule his own national assembly. so what we're seeing over the last few hours is a b

meanwhile, the ruling conservative party's leader, han dong-hoon, announced his resignation after partyklash over his calls for the president's impeachment just hours from now. german chancellor olaf scholz faces a confidence vote that is likely to trigger early elections. schulz is expected to speak ahead of a two hour debate before the voting starts. cnn's sebastian shukla explains how germany got to this point. >> back on november 6th, germany's rocky coalition spectacularly fell apart. too often, too many times did he act to serve his clientele and party. too many times did he break my trust. such egotism is completely incomprehensible. olaf scholz, the chancellor unceremoniously firing his finance minister, christian lindner. the two massively disagreed about germany's economic future the chancellor gave me an ultimatum to suspend the constitutional debt break. >> i couldn't do that because i would have been breaking my oath of office. >> but the divisions between governing parties go far deeper than a financial mechanism. >> all three parties contributed to why this coalition fell

this contradicts earlier comments made by the party leader, han dong—hoon, who in a lengthy meeting,vince ministers to back the president's removal before an impeachment vote tomorrow. the french president, emmanuel macron, has said he'll name a new prime minister in the coming days. in a ten—minute address to the nation last night, he rejected pressure to stand down, and accused the far right and hard left of collaborating in what he called an "anti—republican front", forcing michel barnier to resign as prime minister following a no—confidence vote. thames water has received multiple bids to buy their business, after the company warned that it could run out of cash by next year. the firm, which is britain's biggest water supplier, is in almost £18 billion worth of debt, and needs more than £3 billion of new investment to prevent collapse. a former soldier has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in relation to bloody sunday in londonderry in 1972. the parachute regiment shot dead 13 people at a civil rights demonstration in the bogside area. the army veteran known as soldier f

han dong—hoon, the head of the people power party, said the country would be in great danger if presidentuspected. now the opposition, democratic party, they had schedule add vote for saturday evening to impeach and remove president yoon after his failed attempt to bring the country under martial law but it was looking unlikely to pass without the support of a large number of members of the ruling party crossing the floor. but speaking after a meeting at the parliament, party leader han said they had received evidence overnight that president yoon had ordered the arrest of prominent politicians over grounds that they were among antistate forces. during the brief period of martial law, thatis brief period of martial law, that is what he was referring to. that information was, he said, was enough for them to change the party's position. and without his own party's support, we are now awaiting to see whether president yoon awaits that impeachment vote thatis awaits that impeachment vote that is scheduled for 7:00pm on saturday or leaves office voluntarily. now, while all this is going on, th

but speaking after a meeting at the parliament, party leader han dong—hoon said they received evidenceht that president yoon had ordered the arrest of prominent politicians over grounds that they were among anti— state forces. during a brief period of martial law. that information, he said was enough to change the party's position. we are waiting to see if president president was suspension of the president was my duty. how significant is that? ~ �* , my duty. how significant is that? �* , a, that? well, i'm sure you have heard that — that? well, i'm sure you have heard that we _ that? well, i'm sure you have heard that we are _ that? well, i'm sure you have heard that we are all- that? well, i'm sure you have heard that we are all united i that? well, i'm sure you have| heard that we are all united in our demand for the president, who has undermined the order to step down immediately. for this workers have been going on strike. in the metal sector, workers yesterday, from hyundai excel die, gm korea, railway workers, and we're going on again today. —— hyundai motor, gm korea. we have

you mentioned the leader of the ruling people power party, han dong—hoon, he has withdrawn his supportdia reports we have been following, han said he had urged yoon to address the public. the president has not made any public appearance or statement since he withdrew that declaration of martial law on wed. reportedly he has declined to make a comment. we know the protesters will make their voices heard, as we can hear now, they will hold a big rally tomorrow. that is all leading up tomorrow. that is all leading up to this impeachment vote thatis up to this impeachment vote that is scheduled for 7pm tomorrow, although it could happen earlier. we are going to get the thoughts of our asia reporter. there has been talk behind closed doors, are we closer to a resolution? we are still heading — closer to a resolution? we are still heading to _ closer to a resolution? we are still heading to a _ closer to a resolution? we are still heading to a climax - closer to a resolution? we are still heading to a climax of - still heading to a climax of this— still heading to a climax of this tomorrow,

han hhoo dong, leader of the people power party, said the party would be in great danger if he is notuspended. the opposition moved to impeach president yoon after his failed attempt to bring the country under martial law. it was looking unlikely to pass, without a large number of members of the ruling party crossing the floor. but party leader han said he had received evidence overnight that president yoon had ordered the arrest of prominent politicians over grounds that they were among anti—state forces during the brief period of martial law. that information, he said, was enough to change the party's position. without his own party's support, we're now waiting to see whether president yoon awaits that impeachment vote on saturday or leaves office voluntarily. to discuss the latest developments, i'mjoined by discuss the latest developments, i'm joined by our correspondent here in seoul, laura bicker. a dramatic turn of events, and a very big u—turn from the party chairman there. what do we put that down to? g there. what do we put that down to? �* . ., , ., , there. what do we put t