January 03, 2025
SEOUL: Two South Korean military officials including army chief Park An-su who was named martial law commander during the short-lived declaration last month have been indicted after being detained by prosecutors who are investigating insurrection charges, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday.
According to Yonhap, the officials have been indicted over their alleged roles in the short-lived imposition of an emergency martial law early last month.
Park An-su and Lieutenant General Kwak Jong-keun were indicted under detention on charges of insurrection and abuse of power, the report mentioned, citing the prosecution handling their cases.
On the night of December 3, Park issued the martial law decree under his name, an act which investigators believe contains unconstitutional elements, reported Xinhua.
Meanwhile, Kwak is accused of sending special operations forces to the National Assembly under orders from the now-impeached president Yoon Suk-Yeol to secure the parliament building and prevent lawmakers from passing a motion to reject the martial law, according to the report.
The actions of the two officials were deemed by the prosecutors as having the intent to subvert the Constitution and amount to charges of insurrection.
Notably, Park and Kwak were placed under arrest last month.
Moreover, the South Korean parliament voted to revoke the martial law just hours after its imposition in early December last year.
It was followed by a vote by the legislature later in the month to impeach Yoon over his declaration of the martial law decree.