What Do We Know about Investigations Faced by South Korean President Yoon?

Reuters

13:42 JST, December 10, 2024

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, several cabinet ministers, military commanders and police officials face criminal investigations over his botched attempt last week to impose martial law.

Prosecutors, the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials have all launched probes into Yoon and the officials, seeking to pursue charges of insurrection and abuse of power, among others.

Here is what we know about the investigations so far:

WHO IS UNDER INVESTIGATION?

Besides Yoon, his former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, former interior minister Lee Sang-min and army chief Park An-su, who was named martial law commander, face investigations.

Others involved in the case include the chiefs of the Capital Defence Command, the army’s Special Warfare Command and the Defence Counterintelligence Command, as well as six other military generals and several senior police officials, including the police chief, who are accused of playing a role in the martial law plan.

The main opposition Democratic Party said on Monday that it would also file a complaint against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to be included in the investigations for failing to block Yoon’s attempt at martial law. Yoon, Kim, Lee and 10 military commanders have been banned from leaving the country.

Prosecutors summoned Kim for questioning for a third time on Monday since arresting him a day before, and carried out raids of the Defence Counterintelligence Command’s headquarters and local offices nationwide, according to the Yonhap news agency.

WHAT’S THE SCALE OF INVESTIGATIONS?

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has created a special investigation bureau to examine the case for the first time since it probed a 2016 corruption scandal engulfing then-President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and eventually ousted.

It consists of some 50 prosecutors and investigators, and about a dozen military prosecutors have also been drafted in, Yonhap said.

The chief of investigations for the national police agency also confirmed the launch of its investigation at a parliamentary hearing on Thursday, and Yonhap said its team would include some 120 officers and investigators.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said it had separately opened an investigation after receiving complaints about police chief Cho Ji-ho and other senior police officials.

The Democratic Party has called for the appointment of a special counsel to look into the case, and a bill could be put up for a vote as early as Tuesday. If it is passed, the special counsel would lead a collective investigation with support from other agencies.

Court officials raised concerns about growing signs of rivalry among investigation agencies, and Oh Dong-woon, head of the CIO, at a parliamentary hearing on Monday expressed his willingness to work with police and others for an integrated investigation.

WHAT CHARGES ARE SOUGHT?

The officials face potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority and obstructing other people from exercising their rights.

If convicted, the crime of leading an insurrection is punishable by death or life imprisonment, with or without prison labor. For those who participated in an insurrection plot or engaged in other essential activities punishment could range from death to life imprisonment down to imprisonment without prison labor for at least five years. People who merely joined in the plot or violence face imprisonment, with or without prison labor, for less than five years.

Abuse of authority brings penalties of imprisonment for less than five years or fines of up to 10 million won ($7,000), while obstructing other people’s rights is punishable by a prison term of less than five years or fines of up to 7 million won.

South Korea last handed down a death sentence in 2016, but has not executed anyone since 1997.