South Korea's opposition has scheduled a parliamentary vote on a second impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol for Saturday, a spokesman for the ruling Democratic Party said today.
The vote in the National Assembly is scheduled "for December 14 at 5:00 p.m. [08:00 in Lisbon]," Jo Seung-lae, a lawmaker for the Democratic Party, told AFP.
A special investigation unit of the South Korean police said this morning that it had searched the police headquarters and the president's office.
"The special investigation team searched the presidential office, the [South Korean] police agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the National Assembly Security Department," a week after Yoon Suk-yeol imposed martial law in the country, the unit told news agencies.
The raids were announced hours after two top police chiefs were arrested for their roles in the brief imposition of martial law last week.
South Korean security forces said the commissioner-general of the South Korean Police Agency, Cho Ji-ho, and the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Kim Bong-sik, were being held at the capital's Namdaemun police station.
The two police chiefs are being investigated for their role in sending police forces into the National Assembly in an attempt to prevent lawmakers from entering the legislature to lift martial law, which was abruptly announced on the night of December 3.
On Saturday, the conservative Yoon narrowly escaped a first attempt. The ruling People's Party (PPP) boycotted and invalidated the vote due to a lack of a quorum.
The party later said that in exchange for blocking the motion, it had obtained a promise that Yoon would step down and hand over the government to the PPP and the prime minister.
The opposition has accused the PPP of a "second coup."
The Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials, known as the CIO, said today that it would request Yoon's arrest and detention once the necessary conditions were met.
"We are conducting a thorough investigation and will consider the issue of detention," CIO Chairman Oh Dong-woon told a parliamentary committee meeting, adding that there were procedures to follow first.
Prosecutors have up to 20 days to decide whether to charge Yoon. A conviction for sedition could carry the death penalty.
