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South Korean Prosecutors on Sunday detained the former defense minister who allegedly recommended to the president last week’s brief but stunning declaration of a state of emergency Yoon Suk Yeolmaking him the first person detained in the case, according to news reports.
The report of the development came a day after Yoon fended off an opposition impeachment bid in parliament, with most ruling party lawmakers boycotting the vote to prevent the two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The main opposition Democratic Party said it would prepare a new impeachment motion against Yoon.
On Sunday, former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun voluntarily appeared in the Seoul prosecutor’s office, where his mobile phone was confiscated and he was detained, Yonhap news agency reported.
Other South Korean media carried similar reports, saying Kim had been moved to a detention center in Seoul. Reports said police raided Kim’s former office and residence on Sunday.
Repeated calls to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police Agency went unanswered. An official at a detention facility in eastern Seoul hung up the phone when he called The Associated Press.
Senior prosecutor Park Se-hyun said in a televised statement on Sunday that authorities have launched a 62-member special investigation team into the marriage law case. Park, who will head the team, said the investigation “will leave no doubt.”
Yoon accepted Kim’s resignation offer on Thursday after opposition parties filed a separate impeachment motion against him.
Kim is a central figure in Yoon’s enforcement of martial law, leading to special forces troops surrounding National Assembly building and military helicopters hovering over it. The military withdrew after parliament voted unanimously to overturn Yoon’s decree, forcing his government to lift it before dawn on Wednesday.
In Kim’s impeachment petition, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties accused him of proposing martial law to Yoon. Deputy Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho told parliament that Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops in the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party called Yoon’s imposition of martial law an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup d’état.” She filed police reports against at least nine people, including Yoon and Kim, for alleged sedition.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kim said that “all troops carrying out duties related to the state of emergency acted under my instructions and all responsibility rests with me.”
Chief Prosecutor Shim Woo Jung told reporters on Thursday that the prosecution plans to investigate sedition charges against Yoon following the complaints. While the president is generally immune from prosecution while in office, this does not apply to charges of sedition or treason.
The Ministry of Defense said it had suspended three top military commanders for their alleged involvement in the imposition of martial law. They were among those facing sedition charges leveled by the opposition.
On Saturday, Yoon apologized for the state of emergency decree, saying he would not shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration. He said he would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including issues related to my tenure.”
Since taking office in 2022 for a five-year term, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through the opposition-controlled parliament and battled low approval ratings amid scandals involving him and his wife. In his announcement of the state of emergency on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” mired in state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean followers and anti-state forces”.
The declaration of a state of emergency was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. The turmoil has caused alarm among key diplomatic partners such as the US and Japan.
The cancellation of Yoon’s impeachment bid is expected to intensify protests calling for his ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey showing a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s declaration of a state of emergency drew criticism from the conservative ruling party, but it is determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment, apparently because it fears losing the presidency to the liberals.
Ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun said on Sunday that the PPP would work with the government to determine Yoon’s early and orderly exit from office in a way that minimizes confusion, but did not say when that would happen. He also claimed that Yoon would not be involved in state affairs, including foreign policy.
The Democratic Party criticized Han Dong-hun’s comments, saying the exclusion of the current president from state affairs was not supported by the constitution. It said the authorities should immediately arrest Yoon and everyone else involved in the case.
Yoon’s presidential office did not immediately respond to Han’s comments.