By Hyunsu Yim and Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s top police chief became the latest to be arrested, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, in an investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law that has plunged the country into a legal crisis.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said on Wednesday it plans to hold a parliamentary vote to install Yoon on Saturday, while some members of the People Power Party (PPP) president have spoken in favor of it.
“The speeding train has left the platform. There will be no way to stop it,” DP leader Lee Jae-myung said at the start of the party’s meeting.
The first impeachment vote last Saturday failed as many PPP members boycotted the meeting.
Yoon’s surprise announcement shocked the country and plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy and the US’s biggest ally into a leadership crisis, sparking political and economic panic.
National Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho was arrested on Wednesday on charges of treason, Yonhap reported. Cho is accused of sending police to prevent lawmakers from entering the parliament after Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3.
Soon after Yoon’s surprise overnight announcement, lawmakers including some members of his own party defied the security measures around the parliament and voted for the president to immediately lift martial law, which he did a few hours later.
Yoon himself is now being investigated for criminal charges but has not been arrested or questioned by authorities.
He has apologized but he has not responded to those who are asking him to resign, even some members of his party.
After appearing on social media on Saturday to apologize, Yoon did not appear in public. PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will run the affairs of the government as the party looks for an “orderly” way for the president to step down.
The legal validity of this has been questioned by opposition parties and other legal experts.
Yoon’s office said Tuesday it had “no responsibility” when asked who was running the country.
Kwak Jong-geun, head of the Army Special Warfare Command, told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that Yoon had ordered him to send his troops to the parliament on December 3, to “break down the door” and “pull” lawmakers.
Yoon’s defense minister at the time, Kim Yong-hyun, is also accused by the military of issuing the same order. Kim has resigned and been arrested.
The National Assembly is expected to hold a meeting on Wednesday to pass a law banning Yoon. A two-thirds majority of the opposition-controlled unicameral assembly is needed to pass the bill. Then the Constitutional Court discusses the matter and decides that the president should be removed from office.
The country’s steelworkers’ union, including workers at carmaker Kia Corp, has announced a strike on Wednesday. Members of financial institutions including the Bank of Korea plan to join the protests on Wednesday.
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