South Korean Police Raid President’s Office in Martial Law Investigation

South Korean police raided President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office, a presidential security official said Wednesday, in an expanded investigation into the leader’s failed attempt to impose Martial Law in the country last week.

An official from the presidential security service confirmed to Reuters that police raided Yoon’s office. The national police agency declined to immediately confirm the search.

Yonhap news agency said police investigators presented a search warrant that specified Yoon as the subject.

The raid marks a dramatic escalation of the investigation against Yoon and top police and military officials over the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law that has plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a major U.S. ally into a constitutional crisis.

Yoon was not at the presidential office complex during the raid, Yonhap said. His official residence is in a separate location. He has not been seen in public since apologizing on Saturday for trying to impose martial law.

The president is the target of a criminal investigation over allegations of insurrection and is banned from leaving the country, but has not been arrested or questioned by authorities.

The leadership crisis has deepened with questions over who is governing South Korea and the main opposition party planning to hold a second impeachment vote in parliament this Saturday (14).

Some members of the president’s People Power Party (PPP) spoke in favor of the motion, which failed in the first vote on December 7 as the majority of PPP legislators boycotted the session.

National Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho was arrested on insurrection charges on Wednesday, Yonhap said. Cho is accused of sending police officers to prevent lawmakers from entering parliament after Yoon declared Martial Law on December 3.

Soon after Yoon’s surprise statement, lawmakers, including some members of his own party, defied the security cordon around parliament and voted to demand that the president immediately revoke the measure, which he did hours later.


After appearing on live television on Saturday to apologize, Yoon has not been seen in public.

PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would manage state affairs while the party seeks an “orderly” way for the president to step down.

The constitutional legitimacy of the decision was questioned by opposition parties and some legal scholars.

Yoon’s office said on Tuesday it had “no official position” when asked who was running the country.

Kwak Jong-geun, the commander of the Army’s Special Warfare Command, told a parliament committee on Tuesday that Yoon had ordered him to send his troops to parliament on December 3, to “break down the door” and “drag ” the legislators.

Yoon’s then-defense minister Kim was also accused by military officials of issuing the same order.

Who is Yoon Suk Yeol, President of South Korea

This content was originally published in South Korean Police invade president’s office in Martial Law investigation on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil

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