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South Korean police arrested the country’s former defence minister Kim Yong Hyun amid an investigation into alleged treason, news agency Yonhap reported on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The 65-year-old, who resigned on Wednesday and was replaced the following day, had been a vocal supporter of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s now-reversed decision to declare martial law.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Yoon called for the imposition of martial law, accusing the opposition of sympathizing with North Korea. He said the move was aimed at “eradicating pro-North Korean forces and protecting the constitutional order of freedom.”<\/p>\n
This marked the first time since South Korea’s transition to democracy in the late 1980s that the country’s head of state imposed martial law.<\/p>\n
A few days later, Yoon accepted Kim’s resignation, with the former defence minister reportedly playing a role in proposing the martial law plans.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, a parliamentary motion to impeach Yoon failed after almost all members of the president’s ruling People Power Party boycotted the vote.<\/p>\n
Only 195 of the 300 members of parliament cast their vote, meaning the motion fell short of the necessary two-thirds majority by five votes.<\/p>\n
Yoon nonetheless faces intense pressure to resign, with more than 100,000 demonstrators gathering outside the parliament building to demand the president’s impeachment on Saturday evening, according to Yonhap.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n