Former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun was officially arrested on Wednesday in connection with suspicions that he collaborated with President Yoon Suk Yeol and others in declaring a state of emergency last week, while authorities are investigating whether their actions constitute rebellion.
The declaration of the state of emergency, the first in over 40 years, lasted about six hours but caused significant public backlash and protests across the country. President Yoon and his associates are now facing criminal investigations and efforts to impeach them. The Ministry of Justice has imposed a travel ban on Mr. Yoon and eight others, viewing them as the main suspects in the military law issue. This marks the first time that a sitting South Korean president has been subjected to a travel ban.
The Seoul Central Court stated that it approved an arrest warrant for former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun based on charges of rebellion and abuse of power.
Mr. Kim had been held in detention since Sunday. Prosecutors have up to 20 days to decide on the matter. The law provides for a maximum death sentence for individuals convicted of rebellion charges.
Mr. Kim is the first person arrested in this case. He is accused of recommending the imposition of martial law to President Yoon and deploying troops to the National Assembly to block lawmakers’ attempts to vote on the measure.
Ultimately, a sufficient number of lawmakers managed to enter Parliament and unanimously rejected President Yoon’s decree, forcing his cabinet to annul the state of emergency decree a few hours after it was announced on December 4.
Defense Minister Kim issued an apology on Tuesday for causing “great anxiety and concern.” He stated that the full responsibility for declaring the state of emergency rested solely with him and expressed hope that the soldiers deployed to enforce the decision would be treated well, as they were merely following orders.
The opposition-controlled Parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to appoint an independent special prosecutor to investigate President Yoon and other senior military officials over the declaration of the state of emergency.
Opposition parties and many experts argue that the decree was unconstitutional. They assert that, by law, the president is only allowed to declare a state of emergency in times of “war” or other national emergencies, and that South Korea was not in such a situation.
An impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol failed in Parliament on Saturday after members of his party boycotted the vote. /VOA
