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The first suspect in the case of the constitutional coup was arrested in South Korea
During the interrogation, the defense minister admitted that he was the one who proposed to President Yoon Seok-yeol to impose martial law.
The Seoul Central District Court has issued an arrest warrant for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on charges of involvement in last week's attempted constitutional coup. This is reported by Yonhap.
Kim is said to have played an important role in the coup attempt and abused his power to prevent the exercise of civil rights during martial law.
Prosecutors have already interrogated the former head of the defense department three times since he was taken into custody. During questioning, Kim admitted that he was the one who suggested martial law to President Yun Seok-yeol, but maintained that his actions were neither illegal nor unconstitutional.
The formal arrest of the ex-minister will allow the prosecutor's office to speed up the investigation of charges against President Yun in the same case of a constitutional coup.
Under Korean law, the president is immune from prosecution while in office, except when he is suspected of attempting a coup.
According to Korean media, on December 11, as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the introduction of martial law, law enforcement officers detained the head of the national police and the Seoul police chief. Investigators must interrogate and release them within 48 hours, or request their arrest.
As you know, under Korean law, the leader of an alleged coup d'état can face the death penalty or life imprisonment, and those who participated in the planning of the rebellion or played another important role in the attempt to implement it, depending on the degree of guilt, in addition to death and life imprisonment receive at least five years of imprisonment.
The Prosecutor's Office of South Korea reported suspicion of high treason and abuse of power against Yoon Seok Yeol.
