Yoon ordered arrest of key politicians after declaring martial law

Seoul (The Uttam Hindu): South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol had ordered the arrest of prominent lawmakers of the ruling and main opposition parties shortly after he declared martial law earlier this week, a top intelligence official told a lawmaker. Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), made the remark on Friday during his talks with Representative Shin Sung-bum, chair of the intelligence committee, at the National Assembly earlier in the day, Representative Kim Byung-kee of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) told reporters. Included in the list were DP leader Lee Jae-myung, ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-Shik, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae, Representative Cho Kuk of the minor opposition Korea Rebuilding Party and other politicians, Yonhap news agency reported. Hong claimed Yoon made a phone call late Tuesday and ordered him to "take this opportunity to take them all in and get rid of them".

Hong said he called Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung to deliver Yoon's instructions. Hong also said he submitted a letter of resignation after hearing from NIS Director Cho Tae-yong that Yoon had ordered Hong to be sacked on Thursday, but Cho rejected it the following morning. Meanwhile, Cho claimed he received no direct orders from Yoon about arresting any politicians, nor were there any talks about dismissing Hong either from the President or the presidential office.A document submitted by the police agency to the DP, meanwhile, revealed that Yeo had asked Cho Ji-ho, the head of the Korean National Police Agency, to check the locations of major political figures during their phone calls immediately after the declaration of martial law on Tuesday. The police agency said that its chief, however, did not take any action as it required a legal review. During the phone call, Yeo also mentioned that a joint investigation headquarters could be set up, in which case he would ask the police for support, and that he planned to head to the National Election Commission.The National Assembly's intelligence committee plans to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to question the NIS director and other key spy officials on the martial law declaration.