South Korea’s MP impeaches President Yoon

President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached by National Assembly vote due to his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.

All 300 members of the assembly participated in the vote. Three members abstained, and eight votes were invalid. Among the valid votes, 85 were against impeachment, while 205 ruled in favor. This satisfied the two-thirds majority required for impeachment.

It was revealed that 12 members of President Yoon’s own People Power Party (PPP) were among those who voted in favor of his ouster.

"To the people, we hope your end of year will be a little happier now, and all your cancelled year-end celebrations to be restored," said the National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik when he revealed the results of the voting.

This sparked a wave of cheers and applause from the thousands of protesters who had been demanding the president's impeachment.

Meanwhile, President Yoon believed that this was just a temporary halt in his presidency and assured those who continued supporting him that he “will never give up.”

“I will take your criticism, praise, and support to heart and do my best for the country until the end,” he remarked.

The constitutional court of South Korea is given 180 days to decide whether to uphold or reject the validity of the impeachment proceedings. Until a decision is made, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as the acting president.

NewJeans hints at a new group name: Jeanz

Fans speculated that NewJeans might be re-debuting under a new group name: “Jeanz.”

After they announced the termination of their contracts with Hybe and ADOR, the group had seemingly stopped using the name “NewJeans.”

For instance, in a recent show in Japan, the girls deliberately covered the name and logo stamped on their performance outfits.

On December 14, Dee Shin Dongle, the director of several of the group’s music videos, shared an Instagram story featuring a painting of a flower. He then tagged a new account, @jeanzforfree.

The members of the group eventually confirmed that it was they who ran the account by sharing an Instagram story, where they announced that they would be posting more content there soon.

“We are strong! So we will come back again… please wait for us,” the girls noted.

Mark Lee shows up at his own lookalike contest, almost gets mobbed

NCT’s Mark Lee made an appearance at his own lookalike contest held at Washington Square Arch in New York City.

Following the trend of holding lookalike contests, fans in New York organized one for the 25-year-old idol. The event was put in motion by @brokekpopgirls, who promised a prize of Mark’s favorite fruit–a watermelon–for the winner.

The original post quickly went viral online, eventually making its way to South Korean news networks and being featured on local news broadcasts.

On December 13, at 1:27 p.m., the star arrived and took photos with fans. However, as a crowd quickly gathered around him, Mark had to leave shortly afterward to avoid getting mobbed.

Just a day before the lookalike contest, Mark released the teaser for his upcoming single titled “Fratskiya,” which will feature rapper Lee Young Ji. The single is scheduled to be released on December 16 at 2 pm KST.

The More You Know

• Ariana Grande’s record label, Republic Records, confirmed that there are currently no plans for a tour next year. However, the singer is still “deeply appreciative of her fans and all their continued love, support and excitement.”

• After being denied four times, Sean “Diddy” Combs has decided to abandon and voluntarily dismiss his appeal to get released on bail. 

• KISS OF LIFE unveiled new stops for their KISS ROAD In Europe World Tour. Check out the cities here.

• Charli XCX is set to join the star-studded cast of the upcoming film The Gallerist alongside Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega.

• Donald Trump has announced his plans to abolish Daylight Saving Time: “Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation.”

— Bea Bertuldo

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