South Korea has banned President Yoon Suk-yeol from traveling overseas as a series of probes put the embattled leader at risk of detention over his chaotic declaration of martial law.
The Ministry of Justice yesterday accepted a request for the ban from the Corruption Investigation Office For High-ranking Officials (CIO), Korea Immigration Service Commissioner Bae Sang-up told a parliamentary session.
CIO Chief Prosecutor Oh Dong-woon did not rule out detention when asked by a lawmaker if his office was determined to seek Yoon’s arrest.
Photo: AFP
Police are also considering whether to put Yoon under emergency arrest, Yonhap News reported, citing a police official it did not identify.
“All of our investigators at the CIO are determined to thoroughly conduct the probe, with the principle of investigating key suspects in treason cases under detention,” Oh said.
The ban comes with a number of investigations under way against the president following his shock martial law decree last week and its subsequent retraction, with the ensuing political turmoil and impeachment bids still hammering markets and fueling public outrage.
The KOSPI yesterday fell another 2.8 percent, bringing its slide since the martial law declaration to more than 5 percent.
Prosecutors already arrested former minister of defense Kim Yong-hyun over the weekend in their probe. The National Office of Investigation has also set up an investigation team comprising of 150 officers to look into the president’s martial law declaration, office head Woo Jong-soo said.
The flurry of activity by police and prosecutors to investigate Yoon and others involved in the brief imposition of martial law is likely to add to pressure on the president to step down sooner rather than later. While the clock ticks on Yoon’s tenure, the political turmoil is set to continue with political parties still at odds over how the country should be run in the coming weeks.
The opposition is planning further impeachment votes targeting Yoon and possibly the prime minister. The ruling party will want to limit the escalation of public demonstrations that could be fueled by impeachment bids. Mushrooming candlelight vigils back in 2016 culminated in the impeachment and ousting of former president Park Geun-hye.
“What Yoon has been accused of doing and has done is more severe than what Park Geun-hye was found to have done, so it’s really difficult to see any way back for him,” said Andrew Gilholm, head of analysis for Greater China and North Asia at Control Risks Group, speaking with Shery Ahn on Bloomberg TV. “Those legislators end up on the wrong side of history potentially if they let this drag out much longer and as frustration mounts on the streets.”
The ban marks the first time a sitting South Korean president has been barred from traveling abroad, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.
Since People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon has already said Yoon will be suspended from diplomatic activities, the significance of the ban will largely be symbolic, although it points to the seriousness of the probes against him and would prevent any flight risk.
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