The police search the Presidential Office of Yoon, security prevents access
Kim Yong Hyun, the former Defense Minister and very close collaborator of Yoon, attempted suicide in prison and was formally arrested after a Seoul court approved the precautionary measure against him due to accusations of the key role he played in the imposition of martial law and for abuse of power. Kim is the first high-level figure arrested in the matter.
South Korea’s national police chief and Seoul’s national police chief were also arrested for their roles in enforcing the short-lived martial law decree. This is what the local media reported, recalling that the development occurred just a few hours after the presentation of the new impeachment motion against Yoon by the opposition led by the Democratic party which should be voted on by the National Assembly on Saturday.
South Korean police have meanwhile searched the Office of President Yoon Suk-yeol, as part of their investigation into the December 3 declaration of martial law. This was reported by Yonhap, according to which other operations involved the National Police Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Police and the National Assembly police.
However, the security guards blocked the special investigation team from entering the main building of the president’s offices: “The raid has begun and we have obtained access for searches to the civil services part. At the moment we are not able to enter the main building due to restrictions imposed by presidential security guards,” police said, according to local media.
The head of the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) Oh Dong-woon told a parliamentary hearing that “a thorough investigation is underway and we will review the arrest hypothesis.” Asked if he had the will to arrest Yoon, Oh said he had “a strong will.”
