PRES. YOON REMAINS DETAINED, MAINTAINS SILENCE

Hello and welcome.

You're watching Press Perspective for this Friday January 17th here in Seoul.

Today we continue our talk on President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest and its broader implications.

For more I have Kelly Kasulis Cho with The Washington Post returning for a second time this week to share her own coverage of the political turmoil here.

Kelly thank you for making time again.

I also have our own foreign pundit Colin Marshall with his take on the political situation in Korea.

Colin as always it's a pleasure.

1) Kelly, let's start with the updates regarding the president's arrest.

2) Colin, based on your reading of the foreign media coverage of the president's arrest and his trial, what appears to be the general assessment of the political situation here in Korea?

3) Kelly, you wrote a piece for The Washington Post about leaders here in Korea whose political careers were tainted by scandals. How does President Yoon Suk Yeol's story look to go down in history?

4) Colin, The Economist claims "the presidency of South Korea can be a treacherous job." Would you say this is a fair assessment?

5) Kelly, what has the response from South Korea's allies to its latest political predicament?

6) Colin, quite a number of foreign media outlets have also shed light on the deep political divide among Korea's youth amid its political turmoil. What are your observations here?

7) Kelly, foreign media coverage also laments that the reality that Korea's political polarization will not simply end with the arrest of its president. What have been some of the grim forecasts ahead?

8) Colin, some pundits here believe if the president is reinstated, it will set a disturbing precedent for future leaders. Does this belief merit some concern?

9) And Kelly, "hard-liners on both sides of the recent rallies have vowed civil war should the Constitutional Court not rule in their favor." Based on your coverage on the ground, what are the prospects of such a reality?

All right.