SEOUL – South Korea’s former defense minister, Kim Yong Hyun, attempted suicide while in detention following his arrest in connection with President Yoon Suk Yeol’s controversial martial law declaration. Officials at a Seoul detention center prevented the attempt, Justice Minister Park Sung Jae confirmed during a parliamentary committee meeting on Wednesday.
Kim was arrested earlier that day after a court approved a warrant on allegations of rebellion and abuse of power. Prosecutors accuse him of playing a central role in recommending martial law to President Yoon and deploying troops to block lawmakers from voting on the decree.
The martial law declaration, issued on Dec. 3, was met with swift backlash. Lawmakers ultimately forced the decree to be lifted within hours after unanimously rejecting it in a dramatic parliamentary session. Opposition parties have since called the move unconstitutional, marking the first imposition of martial law in South Korea in over 40 years.
Meanwhile, police raided President Yoon’s office on Wednesday as part of the ongoing investigation. Authorities are probing whether Yoon, Kim, and others involved in the declaration committed the crime of rebellion, which carries a maximum penalty of death upon conviction.
Kim’s arrest is the first formal detention in the case, but other high-ranking officials, including Cho Ji Ho, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of Seoul’s metropolitan police, are also under scrutiny for deploying security forces to parliament during the crisis.
During a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Kwak Jong-keun, commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, testified that President Yoon ordered troops to “destroy the door and drag out the lawmakers inside” the National Assembly. Kwak said he defied the president’s directive.
President Yoon, a conservative, has apologized for the martial law declaration, stating he would not avoid legal or political responsibility for the move. He also left it to his party to handle the political fallout, including matters concerning his presidency. Yoon defended his decision as a measure to combat “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces,” a reference to his liberal rivals.
The opposition Democratic Party plans to hold a second impeachment vote against Yoon on Saturday after a previous attempt failed last weekend. Prosecutors now have up to 20 days to decide whether to indict Kim as investigations continue to widen.