South Korean president fights impeachment as he’s investigated for insurrection
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s party vowed to oppose efforts to impeach him over his failed attempt to impose martial law, as opposition lawmakers said they would vote on the motion on Saturday.
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police and prosecutors on Thursday opened separate insurrection investigations against President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law in the key U.S. ally as his party said it opposed a planned vote to impeach him.
The timing of the vote was announced as Yoon accepted the resignation of his defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, who played a key role in the chaotic six-hour period of martial law that began late Tuesday local time and ended by Wednesday morning.
Choi Byung-hyuk, a retired four-star army general who is currently the South Korean ambassador to Saudi Arabia, was named as Kim’s successor.
“He is a trusted member of the military and a man of principle,” Chung Jin-seok, Yoon’s chief of staff, told reporters.
Kim Yong-hyun, who has resigned as South Korean defense minister, in Washington in October.Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty ImagesKim had tendered his resignation Wednesday, saying all responsibility for the debacle “lies with me alone.”“All actions carried out by all military soldiers regarding the Emergency Martial Law were following my orders and directives, and so I bear the full responsibility for them,” he said in a statement.
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