South Korean police have launched a probe targeting President Yoon Suk Yeol, after he briefly imposed martial law, a senior officer has announced.
The head of the National Police Agency’s investigation headquarters, Woo Jong-soo, told South Korean lawmakers that “the case has been assigned” against Yoon, AFP news agency reported on Thursday.
According to Woo, the president is suspected of “insurrection.”
The crisis in South Korea erupted on Tuesday when Yoon delivered a surprise televised address declaring emergency martial law, on the grounds that the opposition – which he accused of being sympathetic towards the North – had been preparing a “rebellion.”
Within hours, 190 lawmakers, who managed to access the National Assembly despite military cordons, voted unanimously to lift the decree. Thousands of people took to the streets to condemn the president’s actions.
Early on Wednesday, Yoon said he had decided to lift martial law, less than six hours after imposing it. Later that day, the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, announced that it would file a motion to impeach the head of state.
Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) has said it will block the attempt to impeach the president.
“All 108 lawmakers of the People Power party will stay united to reject the president’s impeachment,” the party’s floor leader, Choo Kyung-ho, told a live-streamed party meeting.
The head of PPP, Han Dong-hoon, told reporters that by resisting the impeachment, his party is “not trying to defend the president’s unconstitutional martial law.”
According to Yonhap news agency, the opposition plans to hold an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, and needs the backing of just eight PPP members to succeed.
If the motion passes, Yoon will be suspended, pending a verdict by the Constitutional Court. If the judges confirm the impeachment, a new election will be held in South Korea within two months.
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