Written by Hyunsoo Yim and Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean police raided the office of President Yoon Suk-yul as part of a widening investigation into the leader's failed attempt to impose martial law, a presidential security official said on Wednesday.
Separately, Kim Young-hyun, a former defense minister and a close confidant of Yoon, attempted suicide at a detention center where he was being held after his arrest, a Justice Ministry official told a parliamentary hearing.
A presidential security official confirmed to Reuters that police raided Yoon's office. The National Police Agency declined to immediately confirm the search. Police investigators filed a search warrant identifying Yoon as the subject, Yonhap News Agency said.
The raid marks a major escalation in the investigation against Yoon and senior police and military officers in connection with the sudden declaration of martial law on December 3 that plunged Asia's fourth-largest economy and a key US ally into a constitutional crisis.
Yonhap said Yoon was not in the presidential office complex during the raid. His official residence is in a separate location. He has not been seen in public since he apologized on Saturday for trying to impose martial law.
Shin Young-hae, head of the Justice Ministry's correctional services, told Parliament's Justice Committee that guards found Kim, the former defense minister, as he attempted to commit suicide inside a detention center using his underwear.
Sheen added that he was under observation and that his life was not currently in danger. Kim resigned and was arrested on charges of rebellion.
Earlier on Wednesday, the national police chief became the latest senior official to be arrested due to the declaration of martial law, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Yoon himself is now under criminal investigation for rebellion and is banned from leaving the country, but has not been arrested or questioned by authorities.
The leadership crisis has worsened with questions over who is running the country and the main opposition party plans to hold a second impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday.
Some members of the president's People Power party spoke in favor of the proposal, which failed in the first vote on December 7.
“The accountability train has left the stage. There will be no way to stop it,” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said at the start of the party meeting.
The first vote to impeach the president failed last Saturday, as most members of the Pakistan People's Party boycotted the session.
National Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho was arrested early Wednesday on charges of rebellion, Yonhap said. Cho is accused of deploying police to prevent lawmakers from entering Parliament after Yoon declared martial law on December 3.
Shortly after Yoon's surprise late-night announcement, lawmakers, including some members of his own party, defied the security cordon around Parliament and voted to demand that the president immediately lift martial law, which he did hours later.
After appearing live on Saturday to apologize, Yoon did not appear in public. Pakistan People's Party leader Han Dong-hun said Prime Minister Han Dak-soo will manage state affairs while the party searches for an “orderly” way for the president's resignation.
Opposition parties and some legal scholars have questioned the constitutional legitimacy of this.
Yoon's office said on Tuesday that he had “no official position” when asked who was running the country.
Kwak Jong-geun, commander of the military's Special Warfare Command, told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that Yoon ordered him to send his troops to Parliament on December 3, “break down the door” and “retract” lawmakers.
Military officers also accused Yoon's then Defense Minister, Kim, of issuing the same order.
Parliament is scheduled to hold a session on Wednesday to submit a bill to impeach Yoon. Passing the draft law requires a two-thirds majority in the unicameral council, which is controlled by the opposition. The Constitutional Court then deliberates the case and decides whether to remove the president from office.
The country's metalworkers union, including workers at automaker Kia Corp, announced a protest strike on Wednesday. Members of financial institutions including the Bank of Korea plan to join a protest march on Wednesday.
