South Korea arrests ex-defence minister over martial law stunt as president avoids impeachment

Seoul: South Korean prosecutors on Sunday arrested ex-defence minister Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on Tuesday, Yonhap News Agency said.

Yoon survived an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, prompted by his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, but the leader of his own party said he would be effectively excluded from his duties before eventually stepping down.

A protest against President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul’s national assembly on Saturday.Credit: Bloomberg

Ruling Party leader Han Dong-hoon plans to meet Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday.

Kim, who offered his resignation on Wednesday, was seen as a central figure in Tuesday’s brief martial law declaration. Both a senior military official and filings to impeach Yoon by opposition members said Kim had made the proposal to Yoon.

The prosecution’s special investigative team has questioned Kim, who voluntarily appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office about 1.30am on Sunday (3.30am AEDT), the report said. The office was not immediately available for comments.

Three minority opposition parties filed a complaint with the prosecution against Yoon, Kim and martial law commander Park An-su, accusing them of insurrection. If convicted, the crime of leading an insurrection is punishable by death or life imprisonment, with or without prison labour.

Opposition lawmakers alleged Yoon mobilised military forces to block a vote by lawmakers seeking to nullify what they said was an unconstitutional martial law decree.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last Tuesday, when he declared emergency martial law.Credit: Getty Images

The national police raided the office of Kim on Sunday as part of an investigation into claims of treason against Yoon and top ministers, Yonhap said.

Earlier on Saturday, Yoon addressed the nation in a televised speech to apologise for his martial law decree, saying he would not avoid legal and political responsibilities for his action, though he did not offer to resign.

Yoon said he would put his fate in the hands of the ruling party, which Ruling Party leader Han Dong-hoon later said was effectively a promise to leave office early.

Han has said Yoon would be “effectively excluded from his duties” and his party would consult the prime minister to manage state affairs.

Yoon shocked the nation on Tuesday night when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers to root out what he called “anti-state forces” and obstructionist political opponents. He rescinded the order six hours later, after parliament defied military and police cordons to vote unanimously against the decree.

Yoon’s martial law declaration plunged South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US military ally, into its greatest political crisis in decades, threatening to shatter the country’s reputation as a democratic success story.

Protests against Yoon are swelling

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people packed several blocks of roads leading to the national assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing. Protesters also gathered in front of the PPP’s headquarters near the assembly, shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon. A smaller crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied elsewhere in Seoul, calling the impeachment attempt unconstitutional.

Lee Jae-myung (second from right), the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, and lawmakers after the vote to impeach South Korea’s president failed.Credit: Getty Images

Impeaching Yoon required support from 200 of the national assembly’s 300 members. The Democratic Party and five other smaller opposition parties, which filed the motion, have a combined 192 seats. But only three PPP lawmakers participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn’t reach 200.

National assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik called the result “very regrettable” and an embarrassing moment for the country’s democracy.

The president apologises for turmoil

Earlier on Saturday, Yoon apologised over the martial law decree, saying he wouldn’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose it. 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”.

“The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation,” Yoon said. “But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologise to the people who must have been shocked a lot.”

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving him and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, 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 paralysed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners such as the US and Japan.

A protest against Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Saturday. Most South Koreans support the president’s impeachment.Credit: Bloomberg

“Yoon’s credibility overseas has been undermined by declaring martial law, so he won’t be able to exercise leadership in his foreign policies, especially when his days are numbered,” Kim, the analyst, said.

“Its government bureaucracy will need to continue business as usual for existing alliance and foreign policy initiatives as best it can because there is a lot of important work to do globally.”

On Tuesday night, special forces troops encircled the parliament building and army helicopters hovered over it, but the military withdrew after the national assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak on Wednesday.

Reuters, AP

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.