South Korean investigators call for indictment of detained President
Yoon
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 [January 23, 2025]
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean investigators asked prosecutors
to indict the country's detained President Yoon Suk Yeol over his
short-lived imposition of martial law last month, as it accused him of
rebellion, abuse of power and obstruction of parliament on Thursday.
Yoon defended his actions again as he appeared at a court hearing for
the second time Thursday, saying the Dec. 3 martial law decree was only
meant to inform the public of the danger of an opposition-controlled
National Assembly. He argued that the martial law imposition ended early
because he quickly withdrew troops after the assembly voted down his
decree.
“The reason for the declaration of martial law wasn't about a warning to
the opposition. I was trying to appeal to the people to draw their
strict supervision and criticism of the opposition,” Yoon told a hearing
at the Constitutional Court. “No matter how many warnings I would issue
to the opposition, they would have been useless.”
Yoon was impeached and suspended by the assembly on Dec. 14. The
Constitutional Court is now deliberating to determine whether to
formally throw Yoon out of office or reinstate him.
Appearing at the same hearing, Yoon's defense minister at the time of
the martial law enforcement, Kim Yong Hyun, supported the president's
argument, saying that he drew up the decree and proposed it to Yoon.
Kim, a close associate of Yoon who is also in detention, claimed that
Yoon asked him to remove a public curfew from the decree, deploy a much
smaller number of soldiers to the assembly than he initially proposed,
and prevent troops from carrying live ammunition.
Kim’s arguments couldn't immediately be independently verified. He has
previously said all responsibility for the imposition of martial law
rests solely with him. He was stopped from attempting suicide while in
detention, days after the ill-fated martial law enactment.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon, a conservative, has grappled with
near-constant frictions with the main liberal opposition Democratic
Party, which has obstructed his agenda and impeached some of his top
officials. In his announcement of martial law, Yoon called the assembly
“a den of criminals” that was bogging down government affairs, and vowed
to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.”
Yoon's martial law, the first of its kind in South Korea for more than
40 years, lasted only six hours. Yoon sent troops and police officers to
the National Assembly, but enough lawmakers managed to enter the
assembly chamber and called for an end to the emergency decree in a
unanimous vote.
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A TV screen shows footage of impeached South Korean President Yoon
Suk Yeol during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in
Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Yoon and Kim have said that his dispatch of troops and police forces
was designed to maintain order. But the opposition and investigative
authorities believe they tried to seal the assembly to prevent
lawmakers from overturning his decree and plotted to detain some
politicians. Yoon and Kim denied that.
Earlier Thursday, the Corruption Investigation Office for
High-Ranking Officials said that Yoon, in collaboration with Kim and
other military commanders, allegedly committed rebellion by staging
a “riot" and seeking to undermine the constitution when he declared
martial law. The CIO also accused Yoon of abusing his power by
mobilizing troops for an illegitimate purpose and obstructing
parliament’s right to vote on ending martial law.
By law, the leader of a rebellion can face life in prison or the
death penalty. Since being detained by the CIO, Yoon has rebuffed
efforts to question him. He argues that the investigation and his
detention are illegal.
“As you know, despite facing a nationally grave allegation as
ringleader of a rebellion, the suspect has been constantly
maintaining uncooperative stance and defying criminal judicial
proceedings,” Lee Jae-seung, deputy chief prosecutor at the CIO,
told a televised briefing.
Yoon’s defense team issued a statement accusing the CIO of
“humiliating” Yoon by trying to pressure him to speak to
investigators and abusing his human rights by preventing him from
contacting family members.
In his first appearance at a Constitutional Court hearing on
Tuesday, Yoon denied that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers
out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting. Commanders
of military units that were sent to the assembly have testified that
Yoon ordered them to pull lawmakers out.
Yoon’s martial law decree has shaken South Korean politics and
financial markets and hurt its international image. Yoon’s
subsequent defiance and the opposition’s push to oust him have also
intensified South Korea’s already-serious internal divide.
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