Prosecutors in South Korea have indicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun for his role in President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law. He is charged with insurrection and abuse of power.
Yoon imposed the measure on December 3, but lawmakers overturned the decision in parliament just hours later.
The prosecutors said on Friday that Kim ordered troops to block lawmakers from entering the National Assembly.
They also accuse him of ordering troops to detain officials including the ruling People Power Party’s leader at the time, and the head of the largest opposition party.
The prosecutors say Kim ordered troops to take control of the National Election Commission.
They say Yoon, Kim and other officials had discussed martial law multiple times since March. They say Kim was actually involved in the preparations, and wrote the draft text to be read by Yoon.
The prosecutors say Yoon ordered a military commander to continue deploying troops around parliament even after lawmakers had voted to overturn martial law.
