Yoon slapped with travel ban over failed martial law attempt

By Im Yoon-seo Posted : December 9, 2024, 11:46 Updated : December 9, 2024, 17:23
Justice Minister Park Sung-jae arrive at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 9, 2024. Yonhap
SEOUL, December 9 (AJP) - The Ministry of Justice imposed a travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol over his aborted martial law gambit last week.

It came after police said they do not rule out questioning Yoon over treason charges and Oh Dong-woon, the chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), an independent agency established to root out corruption in government, ordered a travel ban on Yoon.

Earlier in the day, Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Office of Investigation said he is "considering imposing a travel ban" on Yoon, vowing to investigate the case using all available resources.
 
Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Office of Investigation, speaks at a press conference at the National Office of Investigation in Seoul on Dec. 9, 2024. Yonhap
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, and two other high-ranking military officials who were allegedly implicated in orchestrating Yoon's martial law order were placed under travel restrictions the previous day.

Investigators have already raided their offices and residences in search of evidence. They are also questioning witnesses, including officials from the National Election Commission (NEC), which was possibly the main target of the botched plan, as nearly 300 soldiers were deployed to its its headquarters in Gwacheon, south of Seoul. The move has raised suspicions regarding the general elections last April, in which the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) secured a landslide victory.

Meanwhile,  Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, head of a special forces unit involved in the botched martial law enforcement, claimed that his soldiers were victims used by the former Defense Minister, who allegedly proposed it to Yoon.

Soldiers were mobilized to storm the National Assembly after Yoon declared an abrupt late-night martial law last Tuesday, which ended in failure as lawmakers unanimously voted to reject it several hours later.

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