South Korea in the midst of leadership crisis

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday named President Yoon Suk Yeol as a suspect in an investigation into charges of treason and abuse of power after the leader declared martial law late on December 3, according to Yonhap.

Prosecutors also seized his phone and arrested former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who advised President Yoon to declare martial law and later resign. Kim voluntarily turned himself in to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at 1:30 a.m. on December 8 (local time) and answered prosecutors' questions.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo apologizes at a press conference in Seoul on December 8.

After Kim Yong-hyun was arrested and taken to a detention center in eastern Seoul, police searched his home and office. As part of an investigation into the martial law, police said they would deploy 30 additional officers to head a 150-member special investigation team. However, at this time, police have no intention of cooperating with prosecutors in the investigation.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held an emergency meeting with Chairman of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) Han Dong-hoon at noon yesterday. At a joint press conference afterwards, they announced that President Yoon would no longer be involved in state affairs, including diplomacy . The PPP Chairman also said that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would temporarily take over the leadership role until President Yoon "steps down early and in an orderly manner." The Prime Minister also assured that the cabinet would do its utmost to maintain the trust of its allies.

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However, the opposition Democratic Party (DP) continued to call for President Yoon to be detained pending an investigation, and rejected the ruling party's plan to have the prime minister handle both domestic and foreign affairs. Party leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik called the arrangement "unconstitutional".

"The fact that the prime minister and the ruling party jointly exercised presidential power, without having been granted it, without participating in constitutional procedures to resolve the issue of martial law being declared unconstitutionally is a clear violation of the Constitution," AFP quoted National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik as saying. Regarding the ruling party's measures, Professor Kim Hae-won of Pusan National University's School of Law also called it a "soft and unconstitutional coup," according to AFP.

The opposition party announced that it would return to its impeachment effort on December 14. In a related development, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min submitted his resignation. Mr. Lee is one of President Yoon's closest advisers and knew about the plan to declare martial law earlier this week. His name is also on the prosecutors' list of people being investigated.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/han-quoc-giua-cuoc-khung-hoang-lanh-dao-185241208224320251.htm