There are insurrection charges against the president in South Korea

Earlier this month, Defense Minister Lee Jong-keun admitted he had a “marginal order” against “anxiety and inconvenience”

He apologized for causing “anxiety and inconvenience” in a brief address to the nation on Saturday and vowed not to avoid “issues of legal and political responsibility,” without elaborating. He has not made any public appearance or statement since, nor has his office responded to the allegations made at the parliament.

Testimonies from officials mobilized to execute martial law, however, contradict Yoon’s claims. Lt. General Kwak Jong-keun, the then-commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, told the parliament this week that Yoon directly ordered him to “break down the doors” of the parliament and “drag people out.”

While his troops dispatched to the legislature were trying to enter the assembly hall, Kwak argued, Yoon called Kwak and told him to “break down the door” and “drag people out” so that the National Assembly would not have enough lawmakers to overturn martial law declaration.

According to Kwak, the minister ordered him to control the National Assembly, the election commission, and the main opposition Democratic Party’s headquarters.

Military and intelligence officials who were called in to enforce martial law made incriminating assertions against the former defense minister and the president.

On Wednesday, the chief of Korea Correctional Service said at the parliament that Kim attempted suicide the night before but remains in a stable condition.

Yoon Suk Yeol, the Chief of the National Police Agency, and the Head of Seoul Metropolitan Police, are under investigation for possible insurrection charges

The chief of the National Police Agency and the head of theSeoul Metropolitan Police Agency were taken into custody by a police investigation team. They may be preventing lawmakers from entering the parliament.

On Wednesday, South Korean police raided Yoon’s office to search for evidence. The Presidential Security Service, however, blocked the investigators’ entry.

The charges have not been commented on by Yoon. South Korean presidents cannot be prosecuted while in office, but crimes of insurrection and treason are exceptions, according to the Constitution.

Police, prosecutors and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) have deemed President Yoon Suk Yeol as a suspect in an unusual investigation into a sitting president for possible insurrection charges.

SEOUL, South Korea — Investigations into insurrection charges are closing in on the South Korean president, who briefly declared martial law last week and shattered the country’s sense of stability.

Five of the governing party’s lawmakers have announced their support for impeaching the president. The Democratic Party said it will put the impeachment motion to a vote on Saturday.

South Korea’s constitution says a president can enforce martial law “to maintain public safety and order … in time of war, armed conflict or similar national emergency.”

In a speech to the nation, the president claimed that the parliament has been destroying the country’s liberal democratic order, repeating the reasons he cited for declaring martial law.

Pressure quickly built up around Yoon during that time. Military and government officials voiced incriminating allegations against him. The streets were filled with hundreds of thousands of protesters. He was under investigation for his insurrection charges and investigators were willing to arrest him.

He said his decision was an “emergency measure” to warn the public about the ” current crisis” and restore constitutional order.

He said he only dispatched a small number of troops to the National Assembly as a “symbolic” gesture and for maintenance of order. He said he didn’t order the forces to stop the lawmakers from entering. “It is evident that the intention wasn’t to disband the parliament or paralyze its functions,” he said.

An apology to the People Power Party expressing regret about the Kweon Seong-dong’s impeachment of the president of an insurrection

Using violence to overthrow government constitutes insurrection under South Korea’s criminal law. And a leader of an insurrection can be punished with the death penalty, or life in prison.

Concluding his speech, Yoon vowed to “proudly stand up to” impeachment and investigation and to not avoid legal or political responsibility related to his decision.

Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), who had criticized the martial law decree but shied away from urging Yoon’s impeachment, reversed his position following the speech. Han said Yoon “practically confessed to an insurrection” and called on the party’s ethics committee to expel the president from the party.

But PPP’s newly elected floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, who has been more supportive of the Yoon administration than Han, said the party line is still against impeaching Yoon.