South Korean police consider travel ban for President Yoon amid martial law inquiry

(SEOUL and NEW YORK) — South Korean police will consider imposing a travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol, a senior officer said at a press conference on Monday, local time.

Additionally, they had not ruled out questioning Yoon as part of their ongoing investigation into the illegality of last week’s martial law declaration, the officer said.’

“There are no human or physical restrictions to the subject of an investigation,” Woo Jong-soo, a senior police officer in charge of the inquiry into the martial law declaration, said, before outlining the scope of the current investigation.

He explained that there were originally 120 members of the Security Investigation Division assigned to look into five reports related to Yoon’s implementation of martial law on Dec. 3.

As of Sunday, there were about 150 people working on the investigative team that he’s leading, he said.

So far, the team has “conducted searches and seizures of the office, official residence, and home of former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, a key suspect in this case,” Woo said, adding that investigators were also questioning key witnesses, including the National Election Commission and the Ministry of National Defense.

“Going forward, we plan to closely investigate the decision-making process related to the declaration of martial law, the damage to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, and the police measures,” Woo said.

“In addition, we will focus on proving the charges through forensic analysis of seized items and analysis of call records,” he added.

Woo also explained that his team, which he referred to as “the main investigator of the crime of sedition,” feels a heavy sense of responsibility, and therefore, he promised the public: “We will thoroughly investigate, without any doubts.”

He stated that they would do so by “mobilizing all available resources in accordance with the law and principles.”