South Korean prosecutors open criminal case into President Yoon over martial law

South Korean prosecutors have opened a criminal case listing President Yoon Suk-yeol as a suspect in their investigation of his declaration of martial law last week, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday.

This comes as the leader of Yoon’s ruling party said earlier on Sunday that the president would not be involved in foreign and other state affairs before his early departure.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon made the comments during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, after Yoon survived an impeachment vote in the opposition-led parliament late on Saturday over his brief imposition of martial law last week.

Yoon’s future remained uncertain on Sunday after surviving an impeachment vote over his brief imposition of martial law, but reports suggest the president’s party is looking at ways to ease him out of office and diffuse the country’s political crisis.

The defence minister in charge, when Yoon suspended civilian law late on Tuesday, was arrested on Sunday and his official residence and office raided.

A boycott by Yoon’s party killed off the impeachment motion late on Saturday even as huge crowds braved freezing temperatures outside parliament to demand his removal.

But the deeply unpopular president’s survival may be short-lived, with Yoon’s People Power Party saying that it had “effectively obtained (Yoon’s) promise to step down”.