South Korean law enforcement officials have asked a court to order the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree on December 3 constituted sedition.
The Office for Corruption Investigations for Senior Officials, which is conducting a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the takeover that lasted just a few hours, confirmed it had requested the order on Monday. Investigators plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of power and organizing a rebellion.
Yoon dodged several requests from the joint investigation team and prosecutors to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his offices.
It is unclear whether the court will issue an order and whether Yoon could be forced to appear for questioning.
Under the country's law, places potentially linked to military secrecy cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person responsible, and Yoon is unlikely to voluntarily leave his residence if he faces detention.
Yoon's presidential powers were suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14 over his imposition of martial law, which lasted only hours but sparked weeks of political unrest, halted high-level diplomacy and rocked financial markets. Yoon's fate now rests with the Constitutional Court. She began discussions about upholding the impeachment and formally removing Yoon from office or reinstating him.
Yoon defended the martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, describing it as a warning against the liberal opposition Democratic Party, whose majority in parliament is foundering on his program.
Last week, parliament also voted to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who took over as acting president after Yoon's powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court before the court reconsiders Yoon's case.
The country's new interim leader is Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the finance minister.