Seoul, Dec 5 (EFE).- South Korean police on Thursday opened an investigation into President Yoon Suk-yeol, following complaints filed against him for allegedly committing treason earlier this week by declaring martial law, which was later revoked.
The investigation was assigned to the security investigation team under the police’s National Investigation Bureau after two complaints were filed, an officer told local news agency Yonhap.
One of the complaints was filed by minority opposition party Rebuilding Korea Party, while the other was by a group of 59 activists.
The charges accuse not only Yoon but also former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min of treason and other charges for their roles in declaring and subsequently lifting martial law.
The main opposition Democratic Party in South Korea said it would vote to impeach Yoon this weekend over Tuesday’s incident, adding the move had apparent political motivations.
The announcement comes after a motion, signed by 191 opposition parliamentarians, was presented to parliament shortly after midnight (15:00 GMT on Wednesday) for a Saturday vote.
Under South Korean law, motions submitted to parliament can be voted on within 24 hours of their submission to the House, but only within the next two days.
The party’s Deputy Spokesman, Cho Seung-rae, told Yonhap that the intention is to vote at about 7 p.m. on Saturday to allow ruling party lawmakers of the People’s Power Party of Yoon enough time to meditate on the president’s actions.
The date for the parliamentary vote comes hours after ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon said he would work to ensure his formation vote against the president’s dismissal. Yoon declared martial law Tuesday, saying the opposition, which he accused of being “pro-North Korea,” was carrying out “anti-state acts” with its policies.
Since the opposition has a clear majority in parliament with 192 of 300 available seats, only eight votes from the 108 ruling party lawmakers would be necessary to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to remove Yoon, a scenario many experts see as plausible.
If the motion is successful with two-thirds or more of the votes in favor, Yoon would be disqualified, and the head of state and government would be assumed on an interim basis by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
This would be pending the Constitutional Court’s determination within a maximum period of 180 days as to whether the president violated the constitution by declaring martial law.
Despite the army’s attempts to prevent it, the National Assembly itself voted in favor of revoking martial law early Wednesday, which, by law, forced Yoon to invalidate the measure just six hours after having decreed it.
Han Dong-hoo said the decision not to support Yoon’s dismissal does not seek to defend the “unconstitutional decree of martial law,” an action he condemned early Wednesday, and added he wants the president to stop being a member of the conservative political party.
On the other hand, the opposition announced Saturday that it would also seek to vote again in parliament on a bill calling for a special investigation into the accusations of corruption and electoral interference against first lady Kim Keon-hee.
The law, which has been approved three times in the chamber and vetoed three times by Yoon himself, also requires a two-thirds majority to override the presidential veto. EFE
asb/lds
