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By Hyunsu Im and Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean police have raided the office of President Yun Suk-yeol, a presidential security official said on Wednesday, in a wider investigation into the embattled leader’s failed attempt to impose martial law.
Separately, Kim Yong-hyun, a former defense minister and Yoon’s close confidante, attempted suicide at the detention center where he is being held after his arrest, a Justice Ministry official told a parliamentary hearing.
An official from the presidential security service confirmed to Reuters that police raided Jun’s office. The National Police Agency declined to immediately confirm the search. Yonhap News Agency reported that police investigators presented a search warrant in which Jun was the subject.
The raid marks a dramatic escalation in the investigation into Yoon and senior police and military officers for the December 3 surprise declaration of a state of emergency that plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally into a constitutional crisis.
Jun was not in the presidential office 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.
Kim, a former defense minister, was found by guards as he tried to commit suicide in a detention center using his underwear, Justice Ministry Correctional Service Chief Shin Yong-hae told the parliament’s justice committee.
He was under observation and his life is not currently in danger, Shin added. Kim resigned and was arrested on sedition charges.
Earlier on Wednesday, the national police chief became the latest top official to be arrested for declaring a state of emergency, Yonhap news agency reported.
Yoon himself is now under criminal investigation on sedition charges and is banned from leaving the country, but has not been arrested or questioned by authorities.
The leadership crisis has deepened with questions about who leads the country and the main opposition party planning to hold a second impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday.
Some members of the president’s People Power Party (PPP) spoke in favor of the proposal, which failed in the first vote on December 7.
“The impeachment train has left the platform. There will be no way to stop it,” DP leader Lee Jae-myung said at the start of the party meeting.
The first impeachment vote last Saturday failed as most PPP members boycotted the session.
National Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho was arrested early Wednesday on sedition charges, Yonhap said. Cho was accused of deploying police to prevent lawmakers from entering parliament after Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3.
Shortly after Yoon’s surprise late-night declaration, lawmakers, including some members of his own party, defied a security cordon around parliament and voted to demand the president immediately lift martial law, 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 Duk-su will manage state affairs while the party seeks an “orderly” way for the president to resign.
The constitutional legitimacy of this was questioned by opposition parties and some lawyers.
On Tuesday, Yoon’s office said it had no “official position” on who runs the country.
Kwak Yong-geun, commander of the Special Warfare Command, told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that Yoon ordered him to send his troops into parliament on Dec. 3 to “break down the door” and “take out” lawmakers.
Jun’s then defense minister, Kim, is also accused by military officers of issuing the same order.
Parliament is scheduled to hold a session on Wednesday to present a bill to impeach Iona. A two-thirds majority of the opposition-controlled unicameral assembly is required to pass the law. The Constitutional Court then reviews the case and decides whether to remove the president from office.
The country’s metalworkers’ union, including workers at carmaker Kia Corp, has called a protest strike for Wednesday. Members of financial institutions, including the Bank of Korea, plan to join the protest rally on Wednesday.
