South Korean investigators asked prosecutors to execute the arrest last month of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who the country's defense minister said called for the use of military force. wider than Yoon.
Yoon defended his actions again as he appeared at a court hearing for the second time on Thursday, saying the martial law order on December 3 was only to inform the public of the threat of an opposition-controlled National Assembly. He argued that martial law ended early because he quickly withdrew troops after the assembly voted down his order.
“The reason for declaring martial law was not to warn the opposition. “No matter how many warnings I gave the opposition, they would have been useless.”
Yoon was dismissed and suspended by the assembly on December 14. The Constitutional Court is now considering a decision on whether Yoon should be formally thrown out of office or reinstated.
Appearing at the same hearing, Yoon's defense minister during martial law enforcement, Kim Yong Hyun, supported the president's argument, saying he drafted the order and recommended it to Yoon .
Kim, a close associate of Yoon's who is also in custody, said that Yoon asked him to remove the public curfew from the order, send a much smaller number of troops to the assembly than he had recommended the the beginning and banning soldiers from carrying live ammunition.
“Yes,” Kim replied, when asked by Yoon's lawyers whether the president had shot down the defense minister's proposal to demobilize all military units stationed in Seoul.
Kim confirmed that he had also recommended sending some units to the headquarters of the opposition party and to a polling company on the left.
Kim's statements could not immediately be independently verified. He has previously said that all responsibility for applying martial law rests with him alone. He was stopped from attempting suicide while in custody, days after the ill-fated martial law was enacted.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon, a conservative, has been embroiled in near-constant conflict with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, which has hampered his record and some of his top officials was dismissed. In his announcement of martial law, Yoon called the senate a “nest of criminals” who were undermining government affairs, and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean followers and forces against the state. “
President accused of abuse of power
Yoon's martial law, the first of its kind in South Korea for more than 40 years, lasted only six hours. Yoon sent soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly, but enough lawmakers managed to enter the assembly room and demanded the suspension of the emergency order in a unanimous vote.
Yoon and Kim have said his deployment of soldiers and police forces was designed to maintain order. But the opposition and investigative authorities believe they tried to shut down the assembly to prevent lawmakers from overturning his order and plotted to impeach some – keep politics. Yoon and Kim denied that.
Yoon was seen occasionally flirting with Kim during the testimony.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested and questioned by authorities on Wednesday in connection with a criminal terrorism investigation. He said he was only cooperating with what he called an illegal probe to avoid violence. About 3,000 police officers were sent to Yoon's presidential compound, and brought wire cutters and ladders.
Earlier on Thursday, the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) said Yoon, in collusion with Kim and other military commanders, allegedly staged a coup by holding “riot” and trying to undermine the constitution when he declared martial law. The CIO also accused Yoon of abusing his power by mobilizing troops for illegitimate purposes and obstructing parliament's right to vote on ending martial law.
According to the law, a rebel leader 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 search and detention is illegal.
“As you know, despite the national prosecution as a revolutionary leader, the suspect has always maintained a non-cooperative stance and resisted criminal trial,” 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 talk to investigators and abusing his human rights by preventing him from contacting send to family members.
In his first appearance at a Constitutional Court hearing on Tuesday, Yoon denied ordering the military to pull lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting. Commanders of military units sent to the senate have confirmed that Yoon ordered them to withdraw lawmakers.
Yoon's martial law order has shaken South Korean politics and financial markets and hurt his international image. Yoon's subsequent challenge and the opposition's attempt to oust him have also deepened South Korea's already severe internal divisions.
