South Korea in Crisis: Presidential Office Raided, Former Defence Minister Attempts Suicide
South Korea is grappling with its deepest political crisis in decades following a series of dramatic events on Wednesday: police raided the presidential office as part of an ongoing investigation into President Yoon Suk-yeol’s controversial declaration of martial law, while officials revealed that the former Defence Minister, Kim Yong-hyun, attempted suicide while in custody, Al Jazeera reports.
The former defence minister’s arrest on insurrection charges followed the earlier arrests of Cho Ji-ho, commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, also on insurrection charges. Cho and Kim were detained without warrant and can be held for up to 48 hours before formal arrest. Shin Yong-hae, commissioner-general of the Korea Correctional Service, testified before parliament that correctional officials had intervened to prevent Kim Yong-hyun’s suicide attempt and that he was in stable condition. Justice Minister Park Sung Jae confirmed the suicide attempt.
The arrests stem from the president’s short-lived martial law declaration, which sent shockwaves through the nation. Yoon announced the decree in a late-night televised address on December 3rd, citing threats from North Korea and the need to eliminate “anti-state elements.” He later rescinded the decree following a unanimous vote by the National Assembly and issued an apology, promising to accept legal and political responsibility.
The main opposition Democratic Party is preparing a second attempt to impeach President Yoon over the incident. Their first impeachment attempt failed on Saturday due to a boycott by members of Yoon’s People Power Party, preventing the necessary quorum. If successful, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would temporarily assume presidential duties, pending a final decision by the Constitutional Court of Korea.
The People Power Party claims to have secured an agreement with Yoon to step down in an orderly fashion in exchange for their opposition to impeachment, a deal the opposition has denounced as a “second coup.” President Yoon, who faces an overseas travel ban and a criminal investigation for alleged treason, has also agreed to remain out of state affairs.
Adding to the escalating situation, the National Assembly passed a bill on Tuesday to establish an independent special counsel to investigate President Yoon and other top officials, following concerns from the Democratic Party about potential bias in a prosecution-led investigation given Yoon’s past role as the country’s top prosecutor.
