South Korea Fires 4 Seenior Commanders Related To The Military Emergency Declaration

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol who was impeached by parliament/PHOTO via Instagram @sukyeol.yoon

JAKARTA - South Korean authorities on Monday fired four senior military commanders over a brief military emergency decree announced by President Yoon Suk Yeol. President Yoon Suk Yeol was previously impeached last month.

The top military officials removed from their posts according to the South Korean Ministry of Defense were the Head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command Lieutenant General Yeo In-hyung; Head of Defense Intelligence Command Major General Moon Sang-ho.

Then the Head of Defense Command for the Capital City Lieutenant General Lee Jin-woo and the Head of Army Special War Command, Lieutenant General Kwak Jong-keun.

Reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Monday, January 20, the four officials were suspected of being involved in a military emergency operation on December 3, 2024.

The decision was taken pending a legal review regarding a possible disciplinary action against the Army Chief of Staff, General Park An-su, who served as commander of the military emergency at the time.

The government is expected to officially notify the four commanders on Tuesday (21/1), when this decision comes into effect.

Earlier on the same day, South Korean police raided the presidential office to secure documents related to President Yoon's declaration of martial law.

The impeached president has now been transferred to an isolation cell at the Seoul Detention Center after being officially arrested.

Yoon was transferred to a 12-square meter isolation cell at the Uiwang detention center, south of Seoul, on Sunday (19/1), after the Seoul West District Court issued a warrant for his official arrest, according to Shin Yong-hae, Commissioner General of Korean Correction Services.

The cell, which is usually occupied by five or six people, is the same size as the cell used by the detained former president, Shin told lawmakers.

Yoon became the first South Korean president to be officially arrested while still in office.

Yoon's arrest came after a Seoul court issued a warrant for detention on Sunday to extend his detention period for attempts to enforce a failed military emergency last month.