South Korea Dismisses Justice Minister And Police Chief

South Korea Dismisses Justice Minister And Police Chief

South Korea’s parliament voted to remove Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and police chief Jo Ji-ho from office on Monday over the brief imposition of martial law last week.

The National Assembly voted 195-100 to dismiss the motion against Park, the first prime minister to be removed from office by parliament in the country’s democratic history, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

The motion, filed by the main opposition movement, alleged that Park “participated in an executive meeting and decision-making” which “amounted to a conspiracy to commit rebellion.”

“There are suspicions that he attempted to secure detention sites in advance for key figures who were to be detained after the implementation of martial law,” the opposition Democratic Party (DP) said.

The motion also noted that the minister “acted as if he did not recognize the authority of the National Assembly, demonstrating that he agreed with President Yoon [Suk-yeol]’s mistaken perception of politicians as targets for arrest.”

As for Jo Ji-ho, 202 lawmakers voted in favor of removing the leader of the South Korean National Police, while 88 voted against.

The motion alleged that Jo “abused his authority to command and give orders to the police and blocked the entry of members of the National Assembly, a constitutional body.”

In this way, the police chief “violated the right of the National Assembly to demand the lifting of martial law,” the DP said.

The blockade of parliament “is an act that practically prevents the National Assembly from exercising the powers conferred by the Constitution. It is a crime of treason,” the motion concluded.

Jo, who has since been detained, is receiving hospital treatment due to his deteriorating health, Yonhap reported, citing unidentified sources.

In practice, the approval of the two motions means that the leaders will be suspended from office.

The parliament also approved the creation of a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of insurrection against President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Hours earlier, the head of state defended the imposition of martial law as an act of governance, accused the opposition of paralyzing the government and denied accusations of rebellion.

South Korea’s opposition has scheduled a vote in parliament for Saturday on a second impeachment motion against the conservative Yoon, who narrowly escaped a first attempt last Saturday.

South Korean police are conducting new searches of the head of state’s office to “obtain documents and information”, Yonhap reported.

On Wednesday, police said they had been prevented by security guards at the presidential complex from searching the building where Yoon’s office is located.

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