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South Korea’s Justice Ministry on Monday imposed an overseas travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol as authorities investigate allegations of rebellion and other charges in connection with his short-lived declaration of martial law last week.
Yoon’s martial law decree on Dec. 3, which brought special forces troops onto Seoul’s streets, plunged South Korea into political turmoil and caused worry among its key diplomatic partners and neighbors. On Saturday, Yoon avoided an opposition-led bid to impeach him, with most governing party lawmakers boycotting a parliamentary vote.
But opposition parties vowed to submit a new impeachment motion against him this week.
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Bae Sang-up, a Justice Ministry official, told a parliamentary hearing that it banned Yoon from leaving the country following requests by police, prosecutors and an anti-corruption agency as they expand their investigations into the circumstances surrounding Yoon’s power grab.
On Monday, a senior National Police Agency officer told local reporters in a background briefing that police can also detain Yoon if conditions are met. The contents of the briefing were shared with The Associated Press.
While a sitting South Korean president has immunity from prosecution while in office, that doesn’t extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. This means that Yoon can be questioned and detained by police over his martial law decree, but many observers doubt that police will forcefully detain him because of the potential for clashes with his presidential security service. They also say the security service won’t likely permit searches of Yoon’s office, citing a law that prohibits searches on sites with state secrets without approval from those in charge of those areas.
