The Monocle Minute

As South Korea’s constitutional court begins trial proceedings for the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, it is not clear how the president is spending his days. But it would be unsurprising if he had at least dabbled in the construction of a time machine that might allow him to have another crack at 3 December – without baffling his people and the world by attempting to declare martial law and inviting his own impeachment.

A failed coup d’état, which is what this appears to have been, is first and foremost a colossal embarrassment for the bungling ringleader. It is an even more piquant faceplant when the coup d’état in question is a variant known as the autogolpe – the coup that you attempt when you’re already in power. Yoon might end up forfeiting, in richly farcical circumstances, the imposing presidential residence in Seoul; the Boeing 747 that comes with the title; the hefty presence on the world stage; and the retinue of flunkies and grovellers, well before the presidential term limit is due to curtail his ride in 2027.

But a shambles such as the one perpetrated by Yoon is also a potential humiliation to the country that hosts it. It is the stuff of a risible Ruritanian autocracy in which the emperor renames the days of the week after his pet herons. South Korea has worked hard to become a serious, functional and admired democracy; over the past few years, it has become a significant cultural force on the global stage. But Yoon’s manoeuvre has invited the world to regard his great nation with concern, pity and – worst of all – amusement.

Amid this fiasco, however, lies opportunity – and there are heartening indications that South Korea is seizing it. Yoon’s coup not only failed because of his own ineptitude but also because South Korea’s parliament, and South Korea’s people, resolved that they weren’t having it. An aberration of this sort by a president serves as a stress test for national institutions. So far, South Korea’s institutions are passing it rather convincingly.

Andrew Mueller is Monocle’s contributing editor and host of‘The Foreign Desk’. For more opinion, analysis and insight,subscribeto Monocle today.

Parliamentary votes of confidence are usually called by opposition parties, seeking to undo, or at least annoy, their rivals on the government benches. Not only did German chancellor Olaf Scholz call a confidence vote against himself, he lost. It is not quite the self-abnegating mishap it might look. The vote, and loss of it, were necessary to cause early elections, which will be held on 23 February. Current polls suggest that Germany’s voters will echo the Bundestag in agreeing that Scholz has served them long enough – but Scholz is not presently blessed with a luxurious array of options.

Since one of the three parties that comprised his governing coalition dropped out in November, Scholz has struggled to lead a minority government. His consequent inability to get anything done hasn’t helped his approval ratings; blundering on until the scheduled end of his term in September would have been unappealing and irresponsible. For Russia and Donald Trump-related reasons, Europe would benefit more than usually from a stable, focused Germany. Pre-election polls, which suggest burgeoning support for the populists of Alternative für Deutschland, caution that this is not a guaranteed outcome.

According to The Ground Truth project, the US has lost 37 per cent of its newspapers and more than two thirds of its journalists since 2005. It makes the Knight Foundation’s recent $20m (€24m) investment into Report for America, a Boston-based scheme that places budding journalists into newsrooms, all the more critical. This grant – the largest ever received by the programme – is a seven-year commitment that will enable 500 journalists to bolster news output across the country, particularly in rural areas and places short of local media outlets.

The scheme cites declining news coverage as a cause of falling voter turnout, increased polarisation and greater corruption. Since Report for America began in 2017, 658 journalists have been placed in newsrooms across the US – in every state – as well as in Puerto Rico and Guam. The bulk of this recent investment will target newsrooms that aren’t owned by private-equity firms or hedge funds. A list of the lucky news outlets that will receive support will be announced at a later date.

Monocle spoke with the owner of Thai spa and beauty brand Pañpuri, a majority stake of which has been acquired by Japanese cosmetics company Kosé Group, for the latest issue of Monocle: The Entrepreneurs. Pañpuri joins Kosé’s existing basket of Japanese skincare firms, which includes the likes of Decorté, Jill Stuart and Sekkisei. The Tokyo-based J-Beauty giant bought out Pañpuri’s private-equity investor alongside several other passive shareholders.

Vorravit Siripark, founder and chief executive of Pañpuri, will remain CEO and a “major shareholder” of the Bangkok-based company that he set up after quitting a consultancy job in New York. “I want to make Thai beauty known across the globe with the support of Kosé,” says Siripark.

This transformative new chapter completes a stellar year for Siripark. Pañpuri’s annual revenues for 2024 are forecast to exceed 1bn baht (€27m) for the first time, while the opening of a shop in Hong Kong lays the foundations for a multiyear expansion drive across Asia – the world’s largest beauty market.

These boots were designed to evoke a sort of “mountain sprezzatura”, a blend of rugged mountain readiness and effortless Italian style. This collaboration between Danish label NN.07 and Italian shoemaker Fracap has turned out a pair of boots that (weather-dependent) could take you just about anywhere. The calfskin upper has a pony-hair finish that is unique to each pair. Perhaps, to garner the most attention, it is best to keep these for city walks.

We speak with Simon Lovermann, founder and artistic director of ‘Der Greif’. Then: Megan Wray Schertler from ‘Weröld Archive’ on how to run magazines. Plus: Sam Cochran from ‘AD’ reveals the AD100 list of the best designers.