Gov't offers disciplinary penalty exemption for officials who self-report martial law involvement
President Lee Jae Myung, right, speaks with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
The government said Friday it is offering disciplinary penalty exemptions or reductions to public officials who self-report their involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed imposition of martial law.
Last month, 48 task forces were launched at 49 central government agencies, including the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and finance, to look into public officials' illegal activities or misconduct in connection with the martial law bid last December.
Under new criteria drawn up by the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC), officials who self-report their involvement before the start of an inquiry will not be put up for disciplinary action and only receive a warning if necessary.
Also, those who actively cooperate with an inquiry in its early stage will be actively considered for reduced disciplinary penalties.
The OPC said the measure is aimed at preventing cover-ups of incidents related to the martial law attempt as the task forces' main goal is not to punish but to uncover undisclosed information about the event and prevent its recurrence.
The new criteria were drawn up at President Lee Jae Myung's orders, it said.