By Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean prosecutors arrested former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on Sunday for his alleged role in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of emergency on Tuesday, Yonhap news agency reported.
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 removed from his duties before finally stepping down.
Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon plans to meet with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday morning.
Kim, who offered to resign on Wednesday, was seen as a central figure in the brief declaration of emergency on Tuesday. A senior military official and motions to impeach Yoon by opposition members said Kim made the proposal to Yoon.
Kim, who voluntarily appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday (16:30 GMT Saturday), was questioned by the prosecution’s special investigation team, the report said. The office was not immediately available for comment.
Three minority opposition parties filed charges against Yoon, Kim and military chief Park An-su with the prosecutor’s office, accusing them of rebellion. If convicted, the crime of sedition is punishable by death or life imprisonment, with or without prison labor.
Opposition lawmakers claimed Yoon had mobilized military forces to block a vote by lawmakers who wanted to overturn what they said was an unconstitutional state of emergency decree.
National police raided Kim’s office on Sunday as part of an investigation into allegations of treason against Yoon and top ministers, Yonhap said.
Earlier on Saturday, Yoon addressed the nation in a televised speech to apologize for his state of emergency decree, saying he would not escape legal and political responsibility for his action, although 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 actually a promise to leave office early.
Han said Yoon would be “effectively removed from his duties” and that his party would consult with the prime minister on the management of state affairs.
Yoon shocked the nation on Tuesday night when he gave the military broad emergency powers to root out what he called “anti-state forces” and obstructionist political opponents. He reversed the order six hours later, after parliament defied military and police cordons and voted unanimously against the decree.
Yoon’s declaration of martial law plunged South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US military ally, into its biggest political crisis in decades, threatening to shatter the country’s reputation as a democratic success story.
