South Korean prosecutors detain ex-defense chief over martial law imposition, reports say

SEOUL —  South Korean prosecutors on Sunday detained a former defense minister who allegedly recommended last week’s brief but stunning martial law imposition to President Yoon Suk-yeol, making him the first figure detained over the case, news reports said.

The reported development came a day after Yoon avoided an opposition-led bid to impeach him in parliament, with most ruling party lawmakers boycotting a floor vote to prevent the two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The main liberal opposition Democratic Party said it will prepare a new impeachment motion against Yoon.

On Sunday, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was taken into custody at a Seoul detention facility after undergoing an investigation by prosecutors, a law enforcement official said, requesting anonymity in line with privacy rules.

The official gave no further details. But South Korean media reported that Kim voluntarily appeared at a Seoul prosecutors office, where he had his mobile phone confiscated and was detained. The reports said police searched Kim’s former office and residence on Sunday.

Repeated calls to prosecutors’ offices and police agency were unanswered.

Senior prosecutor Park Se-hyun said in a televised statement Sunday that authorities launched a 62-member special investigation team on the martial law case. Park, who will head the team, said the probe would “leave no suspicions.”

Yoon accepted Kim’s resignation offer Thursday after opposition parties submitted a separate impeachment motion against Kim.

Kim was a central figure in Yoon’s martial law enforcement, which led to special forces troops encircling the National Assembly building and army helicopters hovering over it. The military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn Yoon’s decree, forcing his Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.

In Kim’s impeachment motion document, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties accused him of proposing martial law to Yoon. Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon made a similar comment on Kim’s role. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho told parliament that Kim Yong-hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.

The Democratic Party called Yoon’s martial law imposition an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or a coup.” It has filed complaints with police against at least nine people, including Yoon and Kim, the former defense chief, over the alleged rebellion.

In a statement distributed by the Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Kim said that “all troops who performed duties related to martial law were acting on my instructions, and all responsibility lies with me.”

Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung told reporters Thursday the prosecution plans to investigate the rebellion charges against Yoon following complaints filed by the opposition.

Though the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.

The Defense Ministry said it has suspended three top military commanders over their alleged involvement in the martial law imposition. They were among those facing the rebellion allegations.

On Saturday, Yoon issued an apology over the martial law decree, saying he wouldn’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose it. He said he would leave it to his party to chart a course through the political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.”

The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. The turmoil has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners including the United States and Japan.

The scrapping of Yoon’s impeachment motion is expected to intensify protests calling for his ouster and deepen political chaos in the country, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment.

Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his ruling conservative People Power Party, but it is determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals.

Ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon said Sunday the party will work with the government to determine Yoon’s early and orderly exit from office in a way that minimizes confusion, but he didn’t say when that would happen. He also claimed Yoon will not be involved in state affairs, including foreign policy.

Yoon’s presidential office didn’t immediately respond. The Democratic Party criticized Han Dong-hoon’s comments, saying that the exclusion of an incumbent president from state affairs isn’t supported by the Constitution. The party said authorities should immediately arrest Yoon and all others implicated in the case.

The presidential office said Sunday that Yoon accepted the resignation offer by Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, who has also faced an opposition-led impeachment motion over his alleged role in the martial law enforcement.

In a parliamentary hearing Friday, Lee, one of Yoon’s closest associates, defended Yoon’s martial law decree, saying the president exercised his powers “within the boundaries of constitutional processes and law.”

Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung write for the Associated Press.