AP
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South Korean prosecutors on Sunday arrested a former defense minister who allegedly recommended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief but surprise imposition of martial law last week. He was the first person to be arrested in this case.

The development came a day after Yoon escaped an opposition-led attempt to impeach him in parliament, with most ruling party lawmakers boycotting a plenary vote to prevent the two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The main opposition Democratic Party said it would prepare a new impeachment motion against Yoon.

On Sunday, former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun was taken into custody at a detention center in Seoul after prosecutors launched an investigation, a police official said, requesting anonymity in line with privacy rules.

The official did not provide any further information. However, South Korean media reported that Kim voluntarily appeared at the prosecutor’s office in Seoul, where his cellphone was confiscated and arrested. According to the reports, police searched Kim’s former office and residence on Sunday.

Repeated calls to prosecutors and Seoul police went unanswered.

Chief Prosecutor Park Se-hyun said in a televised statement on Sunday that authorities had set up a 62-member special investigation team into the martial law case. Park, who will lead the team, said the investigation will “leave no suspicion.”

Yoon accepted Kim’s offer to resign on Thursday after opposition parties filed a separate impeachment motion against him.

Kim is a central figure in Yoon’s belligerent enforcement of the law, which has seen special forces surround the National Assembly building and army helicopters hover over it. The military withdrew after Parliament voted unanimously to repeal Yoon’s decree, forcing his Cabinet to repeal it before dawn on Wednesday.

In Kim’s impeachment motion, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties accused him of proposing martial law to Yoon. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho told parliament that Kim Yong-hyun had ordered troops to be sent to the National Assembly.

The Democratic Party called Yoon’s declaration of martial law “unconstitutional, an illegal rebellion or coup.” She has filed police reports against at least nine people, including Yoon and Kim Yong-hyun, over the alleged rebellion.

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In a statement on Wednesday, Kim said that “all troops carrying out duties related to martial law acted on my instructions and all responsibility rests with me.”

Attorney General Shim Woo-jung told reporters on Thursday that prosecutors plan to investigate the rebellion allegations against Yoon based on complaints. While the president enjoys immunity from prosecution for most of his term in office, this does not apply to allegations of rebellion or treason.

The Defense Ministry said it had suspended three senior military commanders over their alleged involvement in the imposition of martial law. They were among those who faced accusations of rebellion raised by the opposition.

On Saturday, Yoon apologized for the martial law decree and said he would not shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration. He said he would let his party chart the course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”

Since taking office in 2022 for a single five-year term, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and struggled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving him and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” blocking state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless supporters of North Korea and anti-state forces.”

The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in South Korea in more than 40 years. The unrest has sparked concern among key diplomatic partners such as the United States and Japan.

The scrapping of Yoon’s impeachment motion is expected to intensify protests calling for his ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea. A majority of South Koreans support impeaching the president, according to a poll. Yoon’s declaration of martial law drew criticism from the conservative ruling party, but it is determined to reject Yoon’s impeachment, apparently because it fears losing the presidency to the liberals.

Ruling People Power Party Chairman Han Dong-hun said on Sunday the PPP would work with the government to schedule Yoon’s early and orderly departure from office in a way that minimizes confusion. However, he did not say when this would happen. He also claimed that Yoon would not interfere in state affairs, including foreign policy.

Yoon’s presidential office did not immediately respond. The Democratic Party criticized Han Dong-hun’s comments, saying the exclusion of a sitting president from state affairs was not enshrined in the constitution. The party said authorities should immediately arrest Yoon and anyone else involved in the case.

The presidential office said on Sunday that Yoon had accepted the offer of resignation from Security Minister Lee Sang-min, who was also the subject of an opposition-led impeachment motion over his alleged role in wartime law enforcement.

In a parliamentary hearing on Friday, Lee, one of Yoon’s closest confidants, defended Yoon’s martial law decree, saying the president had exercised his powers “within the limits of constitutional procedures and laws.”