South Korean prosecutors on Sunday detained a former defense minister who allegedly recommended last week\u2019s brief but stunning martial law imposition to President Yoon Suk Yeol, making him the first figure detained over the case. <\/p>\n
The development came a day after Yoon avoided an opposition-led bid to impeach him in parliament, with most ruling-party lawmakers 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 Yoon. <\/p>\n
On Sunday, ex-Defense 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. <\/p>\n
The official gave no further details. But South Korean media reported that Kim voluntarily appeared at a Seoul prosecutors\u2019 office, where he had his mobile phone confiscated and was detained. The reports said police searched Kim\u2019s former office and residence on Sunday. <\/p>\n
Repeated calls to Seoul prosecutors\u2019 offices and police agency were unanswered. <\/p>\n
Senior prosecutor Park Se-hyun said in a televised statement Sunday that authorities launched a 62-member special investigation team on the martial law case. Park, who will head the team, said the probe would \u201cleave no suspicions.\u201d <\/p>\n
Yoon accepted Kim\u2019s resignation offer on Thursday after opposition parties submitted a separate impeachment motion against him. <\/p>\n
Kim is a central figure in Yoon\u2019s 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\u2019s decree, forcing his Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. <\/p>\n
In Kim\u2019s impeachment motion document, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties accused him of proposing martial law to Yoon. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho told parliament that Kim Yong-hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly. <\/p>\n
The Democratic Party called Yoon\u2019s martial law imposition \u201cunconstitutional, illegal rebellion or a coup.\u201d It has filed complaints with police against at least nine people, including Yoon and Kim Yong-hyun, over the alleged rebellion. <\/p>\n
In a statement Wednesday, Kim said that \u201call troops who performed duties related to martial law were acting on my instructions, and all responsibility lies with me.\u201d <\/p>\n
Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung told reporters on Thursday the prosecution plans to investigate the rebellion charges against Yoon following complaints. While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. <\/p>\n
The Defense 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. <\/p>\n
On Saturday, Yoon issued an apology over the martial law decree, saying he won\u2019t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration. He said he would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country\u2019s political turmoil, \u201cincluding matters related to my term in office.\u201d <\/p>\n
Since taking office in 2022 for a single five-year term, 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, Yoon called parliament a \u201cden of criminals\u201d bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate \u201cshameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.\u201d <\/p>\n
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 U.S. and Japan. <\/p>\n
The scrapping of Yoon\u2019s impeachment motion is expected to intensify protests calling for his ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president\u2019s impeachment. Yoon\u2019s martial law declaration drew criticism from the conservative ruling party, but it is determined to oppose Yoon\u2019s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals. <\/p>\n
Ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hun said Sunday the PPP will work with the government to determine Yoon\u2019s early and orderly exit from office in a way that minimizes confusion, but he didn\u2019t say when that would happen. He also claimed Yoon will not be involved in state affairs, including foreign policy. <\/p>\n
Yoon\u2019s presidential office didn\u2019t immediately respond. The Democratic Party criticized Han Dong-hun\u2019s comments, saying that the exclusion of an incumbent president from state affairs isn\u2019t supported by the constitution. The party said authorities should immediately arrest Yoon and all others implicated in the case. <\/p>\n
The presidential office said Sunday that 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. <\/p>\n
In a parliamentary hearing on Friday, Lee, one of Yoon\u2019s closest associates, defended Yoon\u2019s martial law decree, saying the president exercised his powers \u201cwithin the boundaries of constitutional processes and law.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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