Yoon Suk-yeol’s key aide arrested as South Korea’s martial law inquiry widens
Former interior minister Lee Sang-min faces charges of attempting to shut down negative news broadcasts during Yoon’s decree declaration
A key aide to former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested on charges of attempting to silence negative news broadcasts, as a sweeping investigation into Yoon’s short-lived martial law declaration continues to widen.
Meanwhile, special prosecutors, armed with a court warrant, visited Yoon at the Seoul Detention Centre to bring him out of his cell for questioning. Yoon has been refusing to cooperate, citing health concerns.
Early on Friday, the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Lee Sang-min, Yoon’s former interior minister, citing concerns over potential destruction of evidence.
Lee, 60, was taken into custody immediately and is now being held at the same detention centre as Yoon, who was rearrested on July 10 in connection with the controversial decree that plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.
Jung Suk-koo, former executive editor of the progressive Hankyoreh daily, said Lee and former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun – who was arrested in December – were pivotal to Yoon’s alleged attempt at a self-coup.
“Through the former defence minister overseeing the military and the home minister commanding the police, Yoon mobilised both soldiers and police in a failed bid to seize the National Assembly,” Jung told This Week in Asia.
“With Lee now behind bars, the investigation into other high-level figures involved in the martial law plot will likely accelerate.”
Lee faces multiple charges, including abuse of power, perjury and leading roles in the martial law imposition.
Prosecutors allege that he lied during a Constitutional Court hearing by denying he had ordered the National Fire Agency to cut electricity and water supplies to MBC TV and other pro-democracy news outlets on the night of Yoon’s December 3 decree.
In April, the Constitutional Court upheld Yoon’s impeachment, which had been passed by the National Assembly over the martial law attempt.
Lee is the first cabinet-level official to be arrested by the special prosecutors since last month’s launch of the National Assembly-ordered investigation into Yoon, senior military officers and government officials suspected of plotting an insurrection.
Other senior officials under investigation include former prime minister Han Duck-soo and former justice minister Park Sung-jae. Both have been accused of playing key roles in the implementation of martial law.
Han was recently questioned at length over allegations that he helped Yoon convene cabinet members to push through the decree and later forged documents to give it a veneer of legitimacy.
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Han, who served as acting president after Yoon’s impeachment, also stirred controversy when the leadership of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party attempted to replace their presidential nominee Kim Moon-soo with Han ahead of the June 3 election. The move was ultimately scrapped after strong internal backlash.
