South Korean Parliament appoints special prosecutor to investigate president for insurrection

MADRID Dec. 10 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The National Assembly of South Korea approved this Tuesday the appointment of a special prosecutor to lead the investigation against the country’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, accused of insurrection for declaring martial law a week ago, a measure that was revoked hours ago. then by Parliament.

The bill, which paves the way for the investigation to move forward, also includes the opening of investigations against the now former Minister of Defense, Kim Yong Hyun, and the head of the army, Park An Su, both accused of what happened. The vote ended with 210 votes in favor, 63 against and 14 abstentions.

The deputies of the government People’s Power Party (PPP) have also voted, this time without previously establishing guidelines based on party discipline, as happened with the motion to impeach the president over the weekend.

This investigation is expected to also include the country’s Prime Minister, Han Duck Soo, the head of Counterintelligence, Yeo In Hyung, and the former PPP spokesperson in Parliament Choo Kyung Ho, according to information collected by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Unlike in an ordinary investigation, the president will now not be able to exercise his right to veto, although he can delay the appointment of the special prosecutor. The Assembly has also taken the opportunity to vote in favor of Yoon and seven other senior government officials being detained.

The South Korean Prosecutor’s Office itself is already investigating Yoon for alleged treason and abuse of power, although the protests registered a week ago in the country have not led to his departure from office. For the moment, the security forces have detained the former Minister of Defense, who has said he accepts responsibility for what happened.

Yoon announced martial law in an unexpected address to the nation in which he accused the opposition of sympathizing with North Korea after opposition lawmakers pushed through a budget measure and filed impeachment motions against several senior officials.