South Korea: Army's Special Warfare Chief arrested in martial law probe

Seoul, Dec 16 (IANS) South Korea's Army Special Warfare Command, Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun was arrested on Monday after a military court issued an arrest warrant for his alleged role in the short-lived imposition of martial law this month.

The court issued the warrant for Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, who is accused of playing an 'integral' role in an insurrection and abusing his powers in connection with President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on December 3.

With the court's decision, Kwak is the second military official to be arrested in connection to the martial law episode after Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defence Counterintelligence Command, was arrested on Saturday.

Kwak, who sent special operations troops to the National Assembly during the martial law declaration, is accused of inciting a riot to subvert the Constitution by allegedly colluding with Yoon, former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others.

Kwak, who was suspended from his duties earlier this month, told lawmakers Tuesday that Yoon had ordered him to break open doors and 'drag out' lawmakers at the National Assembly compound during the martial law imposition, but he claimed to have defied the orders, Yonhap news agency reported.

He also said he had been ordered by Kim on December 1 to secure six locations, including the National Assembly, three offices of the National Election Commission and the headquarters of the main opposition Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, the military court will also review whether to issue an arrest warrant for Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, head of the Capital Defence Command, the same day.

Lee is accused of sending some 200 troops to seal off the National Assembly after martial law was declared.

On Saturday, the National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched imposition of martial law, suspending him from his duties until the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate him or remove him from office, with citizens cheering over his impeachment.

The impeachment motion against Yoon passed 204-85, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, after all 300 members of the Assembly cast their votes.

The motion's passage came 11 days after Yoon declared martial law in an announcement that caught the nation by surprise and drew outrage, as troops encircled the National Assembly compound in an apparent attempt to stop lawmakers from repealing the decree.

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