South Korean prosecutors have detained a former defence minister who allegedly recommended last week’s brief but stunning martial law imposition to President Yoon Suk Yeol, making him the first figure held over the case.
The development comes a day after Mr Yoon avoided an opposition-led bid to impeach him in parliament, with most ruling party politicians boycotting a floor vote to prevent the two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The main opposition Democratic Party said it will prepare a new impeachment motion against Mr Yoon.
On Sunday, ex-defence minister Kim Yong Hyun was taken into custody at a Seoul detention facility after undergoing an investigation by prosecutors, a law enforcement official said.
The official gave no further details, but South Korean media reported that Kim voluntarily appeared at a Seoul prosecutors’ office, where he had his mobile phone confiscated and was detained. The reports said police searched Mr Kim’s former office and residence on Sunday.
Senior prosecutor Park Se-hyun said in a televised statement on Sunday that authorities launched a 62-member special investigation team on the marital law case, vowing to “leave no suspicions”.
Mr Yoon accepted the defence minister’s resignation offer on Thursday after opposition parties submitted a separate impeachment motion against him.
Mr Kim was a central figure in Mr Yoon’s martial law enforcement, which led to special forces troops encircling the National Assembly building and army helicopters hovering over it. The military withdrew after the parliament unanimously voted to overturn Mr Yoon’s decree, forcing his cabinet to lift it before daybreak on Wednesday.
In Mr Kim’s impeachment motion document, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties accused him of proposing martial law to Mr Yoon. Vice defence minister Kim Seon Ho told parliament that Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party called Mr Yoon’s martial law imposition an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or a coup”. It has filed complaints with police against at least nine people, including Mr Yoon and Mr Kim, over the alleged rebellion.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Kim said: “All troops who performed duties related to martial law were acting on my instructions, and all responsibility lies with me.”
Prosecutor general Shim Woo Jung told reporters on Thursday the prosecution planned to investigate the rebellion charges against Mr Yoon following complaints. While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
The defence ministry said it has suspended three top military commanders over their alleged involvement in the martial law imposition. They were among those facing the opposition-raised rebellion allegations.
On Saturday, Mr Yoon issued an apology over the martial law decree, saying he will 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 matters related to my term in office”.
Since taking office in 2022 for a single five-year term, Mr Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife.
In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Mr Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces”.
The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. The turmoil has sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the US and Japan.
The scrapping of Mr Yoon’s impeachment motion is expected to intensify protests calling for him to be ousted and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment.
Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from the conservative ruling party, but it is determined to oppose his impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals.
Ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun said on Sunday his party will work with the government to determine Mr Yoon’s early and orderly exit from office in a way that minimises confusion, but he did not say when that will happen. He also claimed Mr Yoon will not be involved in state affairs, including foreign policy.
The Democratic Party criticised Mr Han’s comments, saying the exclusion of an incumbent president from state affairs is not supported by the constitution. The party said authorities should immediately arrest Mr Yoon and all others implicated in the case.
The presidential office said on Sunday that Mr Yoon accepted the resignation offer by safety minister Lee Sang-min, who has also faced an opposition-led impeachment motion over his alleged role in the martial law enforcement.
In a parliamentary hearing on Friday, Mr Lee, one of Mr Yoon’s closest associates, defended the martial law decree, saying the president exercised his powers “within the boundaries of constitutional processes and law”.
