South Korean prosecutors detain former defence minister over martial law imposition
SEOUL — South Korean prosecutors detained the former defence minister on Sunday, accusing him of recommending last week’s brief but dramatic imposition of martial law to President Yoon Suk Yeol, making him the first figure detained over the case.
The development came a day after President Yoon successfully avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him in parliament, as most ruling party lawmakers boycotted the vote, preventing the two-thirds majority required to suspend his presidential powers. Accordingly, the main opposition Democratic Party has announced plans to prepare a new impeachment motion against Yoon.
On Sunday, former 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, requesting anonymity in line with privacy rules.
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 added that police searched Kim’s former office and residence on Sunday.
Senior prosecutor Park Se-hyun said in a televised statement Sunday that authorities launched a 62-member special investigation team on the marital law case, stressing that the probe would “leave no suspicions.”
Yoon accepted Kim’s resignation offer on Thursday after opposition parties submitted a separate impeachment motion against him.
Kim is a central figure in 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 Yoon’s decree, forcing his Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.
In the impeachment motion document, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties accused Kim of proposing martial law to President Yoon. Vice Defence Minister Kim Seon Ho informed parliament that Kim Yong Hyun had ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party called Yoon’s martial law imposition “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or a coup.” It has filed complaints with police against at least nine people, including Yoon and Kim, over the alleged rebellion.
The Defence Ministry said it has suspended three top military commanders over their alleged involvement in the martial law imposition, and who were among those facing rebellion accusations raised by the opposition.
