South Korean authorities have barred former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ex-Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok from leaving the country amid an ongoing criminal investigation into their alleged involvement in ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law declaration last December.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police confirmed the travel restriction was imposed in mid-May as part of a widening probe into constitutional violations during South Korea’s recent political crisis.
According to Yonhap News Agency, both Han and Choi underwent intensive questioning Monday by a dedicated police task force examining insurrection charges. The investigation focuses on whether the former officials supported or resisted Yoon’s controversial December 3 emergency decree, which parliament overturned within hours.
The short-lived martial law attempt created a historic constitutional crisis that saw both ministers briefly assume acting presidential duties.
The travel ban is coming just weeks before South Korea’s June 3 snap election to choose Yoon’s successor. Political experts have said the timing highlights the ongoing consequences of last year’s political turmoil, which culminated in Yoon’s impeachment for office misconduct.
Police are particularly scrutinizing discrepancies between Han and Choi’s public claims of resisting the martial law bid and emerging evidence about their actual roles.
Why It Matters
The December emergency saw unprecedented scenarios where both ministers sequentially became acting president during the power vacuum. There are varying opinions that travel restrictions mean that prosecutors may be building a case that goes beyond Yoon himself, potentially implicating key cabinet members in what some lawmakers have called an “attempted constitutional coup.”
With the nation still polarized over the events, the investigation’s outcome could significantly influence voter sentiment in the upcoming election.
More details to come… later
