South Korean prosecutors said on Thursday that they have opened an official investigation in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to put the country under martial law. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun are also part of the probe.
Police said the president was under investigation for "insurrection" and Kim, who had already resigned following the incident, has been placed under a travel ban and forbidden from leaving South Korea. South Korean prosecutors said on Thursday that they have opened an official investigation in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to put the country under martial law. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun are also part of the probe. Police said the president was under investigation for "insurrection" and Kim, who had already resigned following the incident, has been placed under a travel ban and forbidden from leaving South Korea.
Will yoon suk yeol be impeached?
Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) has stated its intention to oppose the motion, but the opposition needs only eight defections for the bill to pass. 18 PPP lawmakers already voted to rescind Yoon’s martial law order in an emergency sitting in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and party leader Han Dong-hun has called the President’s actions "unconstitutional." Nevertheless, he said his party would still vote against impeachment to prevent "prevent damage to citizens and supporters caused by unprepared chaos." If Yoon were to be impeached and suspended from exercising power, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would fill in as leader, according to South Korea’s constitution. Were he to resign or be otherwise removed from office, new elections would be held within 60 days.
Ministerial resignations
In the meantime, Yoon on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who initially proposed the idea of declaring martial law – according to both the impeachment filings and one senior military official. Yoon has nominated Choi Byung-hyuk, a retired four-star general and currently South Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, as a replacement. The finance, education and justice ministers are also planning to resign from their posts, according to Yonhap. The moves come 24 hours on from a night of chaos in Seoul when Yoon took the unprecedented decision to declare martial law, only to lift it a few hours later following a unanimous vote by the National Assembly. The vote took place in an emergency midnight sitting as parliamentary aides kept armed troops out of the chamber using furniture blockades and fire extinguishers.
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