South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office raided over failed martial law: Report

TOP DEVELOPMENTS FROM SOUTH KOREA

• President Yoon Suk Yeol was not present in the office when the police raided the presidential office building to gather material related to the imposition of martial law, the Korean Times reported.

  In South Korea’s biggest political crisis, Yeol imposed martial law on December 3 to thwart “anti-state forces” among his domestic political opponents. However, the martial law was taken back after South Korean lawmakers unanimously rejected the decree.

• Meanwhile, Former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun tried to end his life in a prison in eastern Seuol, where he is being kept on sedition charges related to a martial law investigation, Korean Times reported.

  Hyun was shifted to a protective cell and his health remains stable after the incident, South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted Shin Yong-hae, the head of the correctional centre, as saying on the matter.

• According to the news agency Yonhap, the investigating officials on Wednesday also arrested the South Korean police chief in a widening investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law that has plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.

  National Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho was arrested early on insurrection charges, news agency Yonhap said, adding that he has been accused of deploying police to block lawmakers from entering parliament after the declaration of martial law on December 3.

• South Korea’s principal opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP), is expected to introduce a new impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over his failed bid to impose martial law in the country.

  According to news agency Yonhap, the move by DPK comes after a motion to impeach Yoon was scrapped last on December 7 due to a lack of quorum as nearly all lawmakers from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party boycotted the vote.

• Several unions of workers have also called for strikes on Wednesday against the imposition of Martial law in the country. The country’s metal workers’ union, including workers at the Kia Corp automakers, has declared a protest strike for Wednesday. Members of financial institutions including the Bank of Korea also plan to join a protest rally.