Yoon Suk-yeol stunned the country by imposing martial law by surprise on the night of December 3 to 4, before being forced to repeal it six hours later under pressure from parliament and the streets. He has since narrowly escaped a motion for dismissal submitted to a vote by the National Assembly, saved by his party. But the opposition plans to try again on Saturday.
Former Defense Minister attempted suicide in detention
On Wednesday, a prison service official said that the former defense minister in office at the time of the short-lived declaration of martial law, Kim Yong-hyun, had attempted suicide in detention, shortly before being taken into custody. formally arrested late Tuesday, following the issuance by a court of an arrest warrant against him. On Tuesday evening, shortly before midnight (3 p.m. GMT), “former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun attempted suicide at the Dongbu detention center in Seoul,” Commissioner General Shin Yong-hae said. , during a parliamentary hearing. “It has been confirmed that Kim Yong-hyun tried to hang himself,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement sent to AFP, assuring that his current state of health was good.
Accused of having played a “crucial role during a rebellion” and committing an “abuse of power to obstruct the exercise of rights”, he had already been detained since Sunday. He is currently under protection and in good health, according to Shin Yong-hae.
Under investigation for “rebellion”, the unpopular President Yoon, 63, is banned from leaving the country, as are the former Minister of Defense, the former Minister of the Interior and the commander of the failed attempt at martial law.
“The entire responsibility for the situation rests solely on me,” Kim Yong-hyun said Tuesday in a statement carried by his lawyers, indicating that he apologized “deeply”.
Cho Ji-ho, the commissioner general of the National Police Agency, as well as the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Kim Bong-sik, were also arrested early Wednesday, according to police.
South Korea plunged into “chaos”, says North
In the morning, North Korean state media reacted for the first time. The “shocking act of the puppet Yoon Suk-yeol, who is facing impeachment and a governance crisis, suddenly declaring a decree of martial law and without hesitation brandishing the guns and knives of his fascist dictatorship, has caused chaos throughout South Korea,” they wrote.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was accused by opposition lawmakers of ordering drones to be sent to Pyongyang in an apparent attempt to create a casus belli with the North, which would have served as a pretext to proclaim martial law. These deputies also accused him of having called for striking launch sites for North Korean waste balloons, which flew by the thousands towards the South starting in May.
What next?
On Tuesday, a working group from Yoon Suk-yeol’s People Power Party (PPP) proposed a road map on the president’s removal. Two options are being considered: Yoon Suk-yeol’s resignation in February or March, with a new presidential election in April or May. The proposal has not yet been accepted by the entire PPP.
Even if it were, it is unlikely that the opposition would abandon a new impeachment motion. This would only need eight defections from the presidential party to be able to pass. During the first attempt on December 7, only two PPP elected officials voted in favor. But on Tuesday, two others said they would do the same.
