Kim Yong-hyun, the former defense minister under President Yoon, was arrested on Tuesday after being detained on Sunday on treason charges and charged with complicity in the imposition of martial law.
According to officials, during Wednesday’s police search of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office, the former defense minister of South Korea was prevented from attempting suicide while being held under martial law from the previous week.
In addition, the Democratic Party, the largest liberal opposition party, intends to file a new motion to impeach Yoon for declaring martial law in South Korea for the first time in over 40 years on December 3.
Politicians from the ruling party boycotted a floor vote last Saturday, which led to the failure of its first attempt to remove Yoon from office.
In addition to severely diminishing his chances of serving out his five-year term, Yoon’s misguided attempt to seize power has paralyzed South Korean politics, frozen its foreign policy, and shook financial markets, casting a tense shadow over one of Asia’s most resilient democracies.
Kim attempted suicide at a Seoul jail facility the night before, Korea Correctional Service Commissioner General Shin Yong Hae informed lawmakers on Wednesday.
He said that Kim is currently in a stable state and that his suicide attempt was unsuccessful when center staff intervened.
Kim’s unsuccessful suicide attempt was revealed by Justice Minister Park Sung Jae during the same parliament committee meeting.
Kim was taken into custody early on Wednesday after a Seoul court granted a warrant for his arrest on charges of abusing his position of authority and being a major player in a rebellion.
After martial law was declared on December 3, Kim was the first person to be officially arrested.
It has been said that Kim, a close acquaintance of Yoon, suggested martial law to Yoon and sent military to the National Assembly to prevent legislators from voting on it.
Before dawn on December 4, the Cabinet was forced to lift Yoon’s directive after a sufficient number of parliamentarians succeeded in entering a parliament chamber and unanimously rejected it.
Prosecutors can decide whether to indict Kim within 20 days.
Cho Ji Ho, the commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, the head of Seoul’s metropolitan police agency, were arrested later on Wednesday for their conduct under martial law, according to authorities.
They were charged with sending police officers and troops to the National Assembly to prevent legislators from voting.
Investigating whether Yoon, Kim, and other individuals involved in enforcing martial law committed the crime of rebellion is the main focus of the nation’s law enforcement agencies. The maximum penalty for a conviction on a charge of rebellion is death.
On Saturday, Yoon expressed regret for the proclamation of martial law and stated that he would not shirk his political or legal obligations.
In addition, he declared that his party would be in charge of navigating the nation’s political unrest, “including matters related to my term in office.”
The conservative Yoon, referring to his liberal rivals who control parliament, emphasized the need to restore the nation by eradicating “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces” when he declared martial law.
Yoon and the Democratic Party have been at odds almost constantly since he took office in 2022. The Democratic Party launched a political onslaught over issues involving Yoon and his wife and introduced motions to impeach some of his top officials.
Many academics and opposition groups claim that the martial law order was unlawful. According to them, a president can only legally impose martial law in “wartime, war-like situations, or other comparable national emergency states,” and South Korea wasn’t in one of those circumstances.
Yoon’s presidential authority would be suspended if he were impeached until the Constitutional Court made a decision on whether to reinstate him or remove him from office. A new presidential election would be necessary if he were removed from office.
