South Korea's Ex-Defense Minister Arrested Over Martial Law Imposition | rssama.com

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A erstwhile South Korean defense curate was formally arrested Wednesday complete his alleged collusion pinch President Yoon Suk Yeol and others successful imposing martial rule past week, arsenic authorities analyse whether their acts magnitude to rebellion.

Martial law, nan first successful much than 40 years, lasted only astir six hours but has triggered a home firestorm and ample thoroughfare protests. Yoon and his associates look criminal investigations and impeachment attempts. The Justice Ministry has banned Yoon and 8 others from leaving nan state arsenic authorities spot them arsenic cardinal suspects successful nan martial rule case. It’s nan first clip that a sitting president successful South Korea has received a travel ban.

The Seoul Central District Court said it approved an apprehension warrant for erstwhile Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun connected charges of rebellion and maltreatment of power.

Kim has been detained since Sunday. Prosecutors person up to 20 days to find whether to indict him. A condemnation connected nan complaint of rebellion carries a maximum decease sentence.

Kim became nan first personification arrested complete nan case. He has been accused of recommending martial rule to Yoon and sending troops to nan National Assembly to artifact lawmakers from voting connected it. Enough lawmakers yet managed to participate a parliament enclosure and unanimously rejected Yoon’s decree, forcing nan Cabinet to lift it earlier daybreak connected Dec. 4.

Kim said successful a connection Tuesday that he “deeply apologizes for causing important worry and inconvenience.” He said each work for nan imposition of martial rule rests solely pinch him and pleaded for leniency for soldiers deployed to enforce it, saying they were only pursuing his order.

Prosecutors reportedly impeach Kim of playing a cardinal domiciled successful a rebellion and committing maltreatment of powerfulness by staging a riot to disrupt nan constitution successful collaboration pinch Yoon and different subject and constabulary officers. Prosecutors’ offices successful Seoul couldn’t instantly corroborate nan reports.

The opposition-controlled parliament passed a measure Tuesday to name an independent typical counsel to analyse Yoon and different apical subject officials complete nan martial rule introduction. The main guidance Democratic Party had advocated for a typical counsel investigation, arguing that nationalist prosecutors cannot beryllium trusted to behaviour a thorough investigation of Yoon, a erstwhile prosecutor-general.

During a parliamentary proceeding Tuesday, Kwak Jong-keun, commandant of nan Army Special Warfare Command whose troops were sent to parliament, testified that he received nonstop instructions from Kim Yong Hyun to obstruct lawmakers from entering nan National Assembly’s main chamber. Kwak said nan intent of Kim’s instructions was to forestall nan 300-member parliament from gathering nan 150 votes basal to overturn Yoon’s martial rule order.

Kwak said Yoon later called him straight and asked for nan troops to “quickly destruct nan doorway and resistance retired nan lawmakers who are inside.” Kwak said he discussed Yoon’s bid pinch nan commandant astatine nan segment and that they concluded location was thing that could beryllium done, ruling retired nan anticipation of threatening nan lawmakers by shooting blanks aliases cutting disconnected electricity.

At nan aforesaid hearing, elder serviceman Kim Dae-woo of nan military’s counterintelligence agency said his commander, Yeo In-hyung, asked him if an service bunker successful Seoul had abstraction to detain politicians and different figures aft martial rule was imposed. Yeo is considered a adjacent subordinate of Kim Yong Hyun. Last week, Hong Jang-won, a lawman head of nan country’s spy agency, said Yoon ordered him to thief Yeo’s bid to detain immoderate of his governmental rivals but he ignored nan president’s order.

Kwak and Yeo are among those who look opposition-raised rebellion charges on pinch Yoon and Kim, and nan Defense Ministry suspended them past week.

Opposition parties and galore experts opportunity nan martial rule decree was unconstitutional. They opportunity a president is by rule allowed to state martial rule only during “wartime, war-like situations aliases different comparable nationalist emergency states” and South Korea wasn’t successful specified a situation. They reason that deploying troops to seal nan National Assembly to suspend its governmental activities amounted to rebellion because nan South Korean Constitution doesn’t let a president to usage nan subject to suspend parliament successful immoderate situation.

In his martial law announcement, nan blimpish Yoon stressed a request to rebuild nan state by eliminating “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces,” a reference to his wide rivals who power parliament.

Yoon avoided impeachment connected Saturday aft astir governing statement lawmakers boycotted a level ballot successful nan National Assembly.

The Democratic Party said it would hole for a caller ballot connected Yoon’s impeachment connected Saturday. The statement connected Tuesday submitted motions to impeach Yoon’s constabulary main and justness curate arsenic well. It pushed to impeach Kim Yong Hyun and nan information minister, but they resigned earlier parliament took a vote.

If Yoon is impeached, his statesmanlike powers would beryllium suspended until nan Constitutional Court decides whether to reconstruct his powers aliases region him from office. If it voted for removal, a caller statesmanlike predetermination would beryllium required.

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South KoreaMartial lawdefense minister