South Korean police have reportedly raided the presidential office due to the declaration of martial law

South Korean police searched the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over his imposition of martial law last week, reports said, as some of his top officials were arrested, detained and questioned about their actions in carrying out his orders.

This came hours before the opposition Democratic Party tabled a new motion to impeach Yoon as the country’s law enforcement agencies widened their investigation into whether the president’s announcement amounted to treason. The first attempts to remove him failed last Saturday when the ruling party boycotted the vote. The Democratic Party said it intends to vote on the new proposal on Saturday.

Yonhap news agency reported that police were searching Yoon’s office but did not provide further details. The police and Yoon’s office did not confirm the report.

Law enforcement agencies in the country are focused on finding out whether Yoon and others involved in the imposition of martial law have committed the crime of treason.

The court authorized the arrest of the former minister

Earlier on Wednesday, Yoon’s former defense minister, Kim Yong Hyun, was arrested after a Seoul court issued a warrant charging him with alleged involvement in a coup and abuse of power. Later in the day, National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji Ho and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, were arrested for their actions during martial law.

They were investigated for their role in sending troops to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting to uphold Yoon’s declaration of martial law.

On Wednesday, Shin Yong Hae, commissioner general of the Korea Correctional Service, told lawmakers that Kim tried to kill himself at a facility in Seoul. He said that Kim’s suicide attempt failed after the officials of the center left him and said that he is now in a satisfactory condition.

At the same parliamentary committee meeting, Justice Minister Park Sung Jae confirmed Kim’s failure to commit suicide.

Yoon’s seizure of power has paralyzed South Korean politics, stalled its foreign policy and volatile financial markets, greatly reduced his chances of completing his five-year term and cast a dark shadow over one of Asia’s strongest democracies.

After the conclusion of last week’s trial, the leader of Yoon’s party promised that he would leave his post, saying that the party would cooperate with the Cabinet members on the affairs of the state and that Yoon would be removed from his post during the transition to tomorrow. election.

However, these plans have been widely criticized as unrealistic and unconstitutional. The constitution clearly states that impeachment is the only way to stop the power of the president and that the authority to order the military rests only with the president. The Ministry of Defense said this week that Yoon is still in charge of the country’s military.

Soldiers are deployed on the orders of the minister: commanders

The Council is also surrounded by heavily armed soldiers, which military commanders say were deployed on the orders of the former defense minister. But enough lawmakers finally managed to enter parliament and unanimously rejected Yoon’s announcement, forcing the cabinet to remove it before dawn on December 4.

During a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Kwak Jong-keun, the commander of the Army Special Warfare Command whose troops were sent to parliament, revealed that he had received specific instructions from Kim Yong Hyun to prevent lawmakers from entering the main house of Parliament. Kak said the purpose of Kim’s orders was to prevent the 300-member parliament from gathering the 150 votes needed to overturn Yoon’s military order.

Kak said later Yoon called him directly and asked the soldiers to “quickly destroy the door and drag out the law enforcement officers inside.” Kak said that he discussed with the police commander at the scene of Yoon’s order and they concluded that nothing could be done, and he withdrew that they might threaten the law enforcement officers by shooting the suspects or cutting off the electricity.

At the same hearing, senior officer Kim Dae-woo of the military’s opposition center said his commander, Yeo In-hyung, asked him if the military in Seoul had room to detain politicians and other people after martial law was imposed. Yeo is considered to be close to Kim Yong Hyun. Last week, Hong Jang-won, the deputy director of the country’s intelligence agency, said Yoon ordered him to help Yeo’s order to detain some of his political rivals but ignored the president’s order.

Kak and Yeo are among those facing treason charges brought by the opposition along with Yoon and Kim, and the Defense Ministry suspended them last week.