A former South Korean defence minister has been formally arrested over his alleged collusion with President Yoon Suk Yeol and others in imposing martial law last week, as authorities investigate whether their acts amount to rebellion.
The Seoul Central District Court said it approved prosecutors’ request for an arrest warrant against Kim Yong Hyun.
Mr Kim faces allegations that he colluded with President Yoon Suk Yeol and others in imposing the December 3 martial law, which brought armed troops to Seoul’s streets.
Mr Kim became the first person arrested in the case.
Martial law, the first in more than 40 years, lasted only about six hours but has triggered a domestic firestorm and large street protests.
Mr Yoon and his associates face criminal investigations and impeachment attempts.
The justice ministry has banned Mr Yoon and eight others from leaving the country as authorities see them as key suspects in the martial law case.
It is the first time that a sitting president in South Korea has received a travel ban.
Mr Kim has been accused of recommending martial law to Mr Yoon and sending troops to the National Assembly to block MPs from voting on it.
Enough MPs eventually managed to enter a parliament chamber and unanimously rejected Mr Yoon’s decree, forcing the Cabinet to lift it before daybreak on December 4.
Mr Kim said in a statement on Tuesday that he “deeply apologises for causing significant anxiety and inconvenience”.
He said all responsibility for the imposition of martial law rests solely with him and pleaded for leniency for soldiers deployed to enforce it, saying they were only following his order.
Mr Kim has been detained since Sunday. A conviction on the charge of rebellion would carry up to the death penalty.
During a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Kwak Jong-keun, commander of the army special warfare command whose troops were sent to parliament, testified that he received direct instructions from Kim Yong Hyun to obstruct lawmakers from entering the National Assembly’s main chamber.
Mr Kwak said the purpose of Mr Kim’s instructions was to prevent the 300-member parliament from gathering the 150 votes necessary to overturn Mr Yoon’s martial law order.
Mr Kwak said Mr Yoon later called him directly and asked for the troops to “quickly destroy the door and drag out the lawmakers who are inside”.
Mr Kwak said he discussed Mr Yoon’s order with the commander at the scene and that they concluded there was nothing that could be done, ruling out the possibility of threatening the lawmakers by shooting blanks or cutting off electricity.
