December 09, (THEWILL) – South Korea has imposed an overseas travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol as authorities investigate allegations of rebellion and other charges in connection with the martial law he declared last week.
President Yoon had on Tuesday night declared martial law “to safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness.”
The declaration came after the opposition Democratic Party railroaded a downsized budget bill in the parliamentary budget committee, and submitted impeachment motions against a state auditor and the chief prosecutor.
In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.”
President Yoon however, rescinded his decision on martial law following its invalidation by the Parliament.
But speaking Monday, Bae Sang-up, a Justice Ministry official, told a parliamentary hearing that it banned Yoon from leaving the country following requests by police, prosecutors, and an anti-corruption agency as they expand their probes into the circumstances surrounding Yoon’s power grab.
On Monday, a senior National Police Agency officer told local reporters in a background briefing that police can also detain Yoon if conditions are met.
While a sitting South Korean president has immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
South Korean prosecutors on Sunday detained former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who allegedly recommended that Yoon declare martial law.
Since taking office in 2022 for a single five-year term, Yoon, a conservative, has been on a near-constant collision course with his liberal rivals who control parliament.
On Saturday, Yoon issued an apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration.
He said he would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”
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