South Korean prosecutors weigh arresting president for insurrection

SEOUL - The chief prosecutor leading a criminal investigation into South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that he wouldn’t hesitate to have Yoon arrested on allegations of insurrection, if warranted, over his extraordinary decision to declare martial law last week.

This came the same day that a special police unit attempted to raid the presidential office, but their efforts led to a standoff with security services for three hours.

The political crisis in Asia’s fourth largest economy is deepening as Yoon, who survived an impeachment vote last weekend but has lost the support of some in his party and top government officials, refuses to resign.

The opposition will make another attempt to impeach Yoon this Saturday.

The president and his top lieutenants are coming under intense scrutiny for their ill-fated effort to seize power by imposing martial law, ostensibly to thwart “antistate” activities by the opposition, which controls the National Assembly.

Yoon’s former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was detained on Sunday and formally arrested Wednesday, attempted to take his own life in the detention center, Shin Yong-hae, head of the South Korean Correctional Service, told lawmakers Wednesday. He survived and has since been moved to a hospital.

Kim, who encouraged the president to declare martial law, resigned Thursday and apologized for his role in the gambit.

Yoon, who has been banned from leaving the country, is also under criminal investigation for his actions last week.

On Dec. 3, Yoon imposed martial law and sent troops to the National Assembly in an unsuccessful attempt to stop lawmakers from getting into the voting chamber and overturning his decree. The lawmakers’ vote and an eruption of public anger caused Yoon to backtrack barely six hours later.

An army commander testified during a parliamentary hearing Tuesday that Yoon gave an order to “drag out” lawmakers from the building after declaring martial law.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is investigating Yoon’s actions, and the National Assembly has launched its own probe and appointed a special prosecutor to examine Yoon’s actions.

A sitting South Korean president has immunity from prosecution while in office. But the president can be arrested or indicted in relation to allegations of insurrection or treason.

Oh Dong-woon, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office, said Wednesday his office was going through the proper investigative process but signaled he would not hesitate to have Yoon arrested as the “leader of an internal rebellion” if the facts supported it.

“If the situation justifies it, we will attempt an emergency arrest or arrest by warrant,” he told lawmakers at a parliamentary hearing.

Yoon is now forming a legal defense team, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported.

Separately, a police special investigation unit on Wednesday carried out raids on the national and Seoul police headquarters and National Assembly Police Guards as they investigate whether Yoon’s actions last week amount to insurrection.

They also tried to raid the president’s office but were locked in a standoff with the office’s security service about access, according reports from the semiofficial Yonhap News Agency and its broadcasting arm, YTN.

The South Korean government has been effectively paralyzed since Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law.

Yoon survived last Saturday’s impeachment effort after lawmakers from his conservative People Power Party boycotted the vote.

But Han Dong-hoon, the PPP leader, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo made it clear they had no confidence in Yoon, saying they would take over, with the prime minister assuming control of state affairs and diplomacy, until the president stepped down.

Legal experts have cast doubt on the constitutionality of their actions, adding chaos to the leadership vacuum.