South Korean police raided the Presidential Office, former Defense Minister attempted suicide

(CLO) South Korean police raided the Office of President Yoon Suk Yeol on December 11. Meanwhile, the country's former Defense Minister attempted suicide, but failed.

According to the National Bureau of Investigation of the National Police Agency (NPA), a team of 18 investigators arrived at the presidential office complex just before noon to search for documents related to the martial law decree, including the minutes of a Cabinet meeting held shortly before Yoon announced the decree on December 3.

However, as of 4 p.m., police investigators had not yet been able to enter the presidential office building as they were still negotiating with the presidential security agency on how to carry out the raid.

Police investigators enter the presidential office complex in Seoul to search for documents related to martial law, December 11. Photo: Yonhap

The search warrant named President Yoon as a suspect and the search targets included the Presidential Office, the Cabinet meeting room, the Presidential Security Service and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) building.

The JCS headquarters is located in the same complex, and the martial law command used the basement as a situation room during the six hours of martial law. Police attempted to enter the building to seize documents related to the command's operations.

It is unclear whether President Yoon was in office at the time of the raid. He is currently under criminal investigation for sedition, and he has also been banned from leaving the country, becoming the first sitting president to be barred from leaving the country.

Police suspect Mr. Yoon was the mastermind of the riot. Lieutenant General Kwak Jong Keun, commander of the army's special warfare force, told lawmakers on December 10 that he was ordered by President Yoon to pull lawmakers out of the National Assembly building to prevent them from voting to lift martial law last week.

Law enforcement officials are also now leaving open the possibility of arresting Mr. Yoon without a warrant, given the serious nature of sedition, a crime that carries the death penalty.

Police also raided the offices of the NPA, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), and the National Assembly Guard Police on December 11. The search came after NPA director Cho Ji-ho and SMPA director Kim Bong-sik were arrested in an emergency operation.

In another serious development, former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who was recently dismissed and arrested for his involvement in the martial law, attempted suicide in his Seoul prison cell. Mr. Kim is believed to have used his shirt and underwear to end his life in the prison.

A South Korean Justice Ministry official said Mr. Kim is now under medical observation and his life is no longer in danger. Mr. Kim has publicly apologized for his role in imposing the emergency and taken full responsibility for the incident.

Hoai Phuong (according to Yonhap, Reuters, AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/han-quoc-canh-sat-dot-kich-van-phong-tong-thong-cuu-bo-truong-quoc-phong-tu-tu-bat-thanh-post325131.html