People march in heavy rain to protest South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol as strikes and protests continue amid the martial law crisis in Seoul, South Korea, December 5, 2024.
Daniel Cheng | Anadolu | Getty Images
The crisis in South Korea’s leadership deepened on Sunday after prosecutors named President Yoon Seok-Yeol in a criminal investigation over last week’s attempt to impose martial law, and his former defense minister was arrested, according to media reports. It got even deeper.
Mr. Yin survived an impeachment vote in the opposition-led parliament late Saturday for his attempt to impose martial law on Tuesday, but his party’s leader said the president was effectively removed from office before ultimately resigning. He said that it would be. .
The proposal appeared to have received tacit approval from Yun’s appointed prime minister on Sunday, but opposition lawmakers argued that delegating power without resignation or impeachment would be yet another unconstitutional power grab. invited criticism.
Thousands of people rallied in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Sunday, calling for Yoon’s impeachment and arrest and the dissolution of the ruling party.
Mr. Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Tuesday plunges Asia’s fourth-largest economy and key U.S. military ally into its biggest political crisis in decades and threatens to shatter South Korea’s reputation as a democratic success story. There is.
Han Dong-hoon, leader of Yun’s People’s Power Party, held a press conference alongside the prime minister on Sunday and said he would not be involved in foreign affairs or other national affairs until Yun resigns early.
However, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik said it was unconstitutional to delegate presidential power to the prime minister and the ruling party without impeachment. Mr. Yu proposed a meeting of opposing political parties to discuss ways to immediately suspend Mr. Yun’s presidential powers.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, called for the immediate suspension of Yoon’s presidential duties and for him to be stripped of his authority to control the military. The Democratic Progressive Party called for the arrest of Yun and military personnel involved in the martial law debacle.
Mr. Yun shocked the nation on Tuesday night by giving the military sweeping emergency powers to root out what he called “anti-national forces” and obstructionist political opponents. The president rescinded the order six hours later after Congress voted unanimously against the decree, ignoring the military and police cordon.
criminal investigation
Yonhap News reported that the prosecutor’s office had “booked” Yoon. South Korea is currently in the process of officially naming people to be investigated. Prosecutors could not comment on the report.
Three minority opposition parties filed charges with prosecutors against Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, martial law commander Park An-soo, and others on suspicion of rebellion. The crime of leading a rebellion is punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment, with or without penal labor. Kim, who resigned on Wednesday after Yun lifted martial law, was seen as the central figure in the debacle.
He had proposed martial law to the president, according to senior military officials and the impeachment petition. The prosecutor’s special investigation team arrested Kim on Sunday and confiscated his cell phone, he told reporters in a brief statement.
According to Yonhap News, before the arrest, investigative authorities questioned Kim, who voluntarily turned himself in to the Seoul Central District Public Prosecutors Office around 1:30 a.m. Sunday (16:30 p.m. Saturday).
National police raided Kim’s office on Sunday as part of an investigation into treason charges against Yoon and other ministers, Yonhap News reported. Opposition lawmakers claim that Yun mobilized the military to prevent lawmakers from voting to invalidate the unconstitutional martial law.
military crisis
Hours before Saturday’s impeachment vote, Yun apologized to the public for martial law in a televised speech and said he would put his fate in the hands of his party. Han said his statement was effectively a promise to retire early, adding that the ruling party would consult with the prime minister regarding the management of national politics.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo said Sunday that the Cabinet will do its best to “maintain trust with our allies,” referring to the United States and Japan. The ruling party has provided few details about its plan to prevent Yoon from being impeached but force him to relinquish power, a proposal that has added further confusion to the crisis over presidential power. To reassure the public, several military leaders, including the acting defense minister, said they would reject orders to reimpose martial law.
The Defense Ministry on Sunday did not respond to repeated questions from foreign media about who is the current supreme commander of South Korea’s military, one of the world’s largest militaries and jointly commanded with the United States.
“I think (military commanders) are very disappointed. Some of them feel betrayed. It will take a lot of effort to regain trust in the military,” said former military lieutenant general Chung. Inbeom said. South Korean military and former special forces commanders blamed politicians for the chaos.
“I am outraged by the fact that they are mobilizing the military to accomplish their mission, and it was a wrong decision to try to use the military to solve political problems,” Chun said. spoke. Analysts said the leadership crisis could undermine allies’ efforts to deter nuclear-armed North Korea.
Leif Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said, “North Korea will probably take a wait-and-see attitude toward these events, but we cannot rule out the possibility that North Korea will try to take advantage of the division in Seoul.” ” he said.
