South Korean prosecutors are investigating President Jun Sok-yol on suspicion of treason and abuse of power. Citing a source from the prosecutor’s office, the Jonhap agency reported on this on Sunday, adding that many complaints were filed against the president for the controversial declaration of martial law, TASR quotes.
In addition, the media reported that former Defense Minister Kim Jong-hyun, identified as one of the main masterminds behind the declaration of martial law, was detained, interrogated and then taken into custody on Sunday. Several media outlets reported that the police were searching his office and official residence.
The Minister of Defense apologized for the chaos caused
The declaration of martial law was proposed to the president by the Minister of Defense. On Wednesday, he apologized to the citizens for the chaos and offered his resignation to the president. Jun accepted her on Thursday.
In connection with the martial law fiasco, Interior Minister I Sang-min also resigned. In his resignation letter, he wrote about his “responsibility for not serving the people and the president well”. Li said the president had accepted his resignation, South Korean media reported on Sunday.
After the declaration of martial law and its subsequent lifting that plunged South Korea into political chaos, the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) announced on Sunday that it had received a promise from President Jun to step down.
However, the AFP agency reminded in this context that precisely thanks to the change of opinion of the PPP leadership on Jun’s remaining in office and the attitude of this party’s deputies, Jun escaped the start of the impeachment procedure in the parliament on Saturday – the PPP deputies boycotted the vote on him.
However, in the meantime, Prime Minister Han Tok-su distanced himself from the president, who most recently assured the public that the government will “show humility” and will try to “cooperate” with the opposition in parliament, reports AFP.
The opposition announced that, despite the failure of Saturday’s vote, it would continue its efforts to oust Jun. “At any cost, I will remove Jun Sok-yol, who has become the biggest danger to South Korea,” promised opposition leader I Jae-myong.
Late on Tuesday, President Jun unexpectedly declared martial law, but the parliament declared it invalid a few hours later. Protests broke out in South Korea immediately after the president’s decision.
