Investigation into Yoon's martial law in full swing

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol walks past a journalist near Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, Monday. Newsis

The special counsel looking into former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration indicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a key mastermind behind the incident, on new charges, as investigators move to extend his detention for further questioning.

Cho Eun-suk, the independent counsel leading the investigation, said Thursday that his team, which officially began the investigation on Wednesday, is already well into its probe, targeting key suspects involved in the imposition of martial law. Kim, arrested and indicted in December, is the first to face additional indictments.

Cho said they indicted Kim on additional charges of obstruction of justice and abetting the destruction of evidence in connection with the martial law decree. The move is widely seen as an effort to keep him in custody beyond the expiration of his current six-month detention period, which is set to end on June 26. Cho said his team will swiftly request judges to merge all charges against Kim and issue a new arrest warrant for him.

Kim is already on trial for his role in insurrection, accused of conspiring with Yoon, former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won and top-ranking military officers to impose martial law and deploy troops to block lawmakers from voting to overturn the decree at the National Assembly. Kim and Noh ― who was a civilian at the time ― are suspected of playing important roles in executing the plan, which ultimately led to Yoon’s impeachment.

If the court approves an extension of Kim’s arrest, the special counsel's investigation is expected to gain early momentum, with authorities planning to examine other allegations, including Kim’s suspected role in provoking North Korea by authorizing drone deployments across the border.

On the same day, Cho requested that 73 investigators ― including 42 prosecutors ― from the prosecution and the National Police Agency be assigned to his team, underscoring the scale and urgency of the probe.

Meanwhile, Yoon, who is also on trial for insurrection charges, refused police questioning for the third time. He is accused of ordering the Presidential Security Service to frustrate legitimate attempts to detain him for questioning in January and instructing three Army generals to delete records of the martial law planning from their secret phones.

Typically, after three ignored requests to appear for questioning, police seek a court warrant to detain or arrest the suspect.

Police and investigators under the independent counsel are expected to discuss the next steps regarding the criminal allegations against the former president. It is possible that police may hand everything over to the counsel team.

Cho is one of three special counsels recently appointed by President Lee Jae Myung to investigate the martial law fiasco, corruption allegations involving Yoon’s wife Kim Keon Hee and suspicions surrounding the 2023 death of a Marine taking part in a search-and-rescue mission during a flood.