SEOUL - South Korean police failed to raid the presidential office Wednesday after the presidential security service refused to cooperate with their investigation into President Yoon Suk-yeol's brief imposition of martial law last week, Yonhap news agency reported.
This developed as former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun attempted to take his own life while being held at a detention facility on charges of insurrection. The Justice Ministry said Kim was in stable condition.
Police officers had confronted security service agents for over three hours to raid Yoon's office but to no avail. A group of police investigators attempted to raid the presidential office in central Seoul from 11:50 am local time (0250 GMT), but security service agents blocked them from getting in for security reasons.
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Earlier in the day, the police launched a raid on the National Police Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Police and the National Assembly Police Guards. The police investigated insurrection and other charges over Yoon's martial law declaration on the night of Dec 3, rescinded by the National Assembly hours later.
Yoon reportedly was not staying at the presidential office building. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said it will attempt to arrest Yoon with and without an arrest warrant if conditions are met, according to multiple media outlets.
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Under the law, while the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
Suicide attempt
Meanwhile, former defense minister Kim was found trying to hang himself with a rope made from tying together innerwear inside a bathroom at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center in eastern Seoul at 11:52 pm local time Tuesday, shortly before a court issued an arrest warrant for him, the ministry said.
Following the unsuccessful attempt, Kim was being held in a protective cell and his health remained stable, according to Shin Yong-hae, head of the correctional center.
Kim, who had already been detained since Sunday, was formally arrested early Wednesday on charges of helping Yoon stage an insurrection during the six-hour imposition of martial law.
Also on Wednesday, police arrested Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, on insurrection charges, according to a special investigation team under the national police.
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The two police chiefs were suspected of instructing police officers to cordon off the National Assembly compound to block lawmakers from attending a plenary session for a vote against the imposition of the emergency martial law.
Police made the arrests in consideration of the seriousness of the charges and the possibility of destruction of evidence by the two officers, Yonhap said, citing police sources.
South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik also invoked authority to conduct a parliamentary probe into Yoon's martial law declaration last week. Prosecutors also raided the headquarters of the Army Special Warfare Command as part of their probe.
