Former South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun has reportedly attempted to end his own life while in custody just hours before the Seoul Central District Court issued his official arrest warrant on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
Earlier reports indicated that Kim was briefly detained on Sunday, December 8, 2024, following a political crisis in the country after the president declared martial law to crack down on opposition forces.
Kim’s suicide attempt was confirmed by the commissioner general of the country’s correctional service, Shin Yong-hae, while addressing lawmakers during a parliamentary hearing aimed at determining the fate of the president and his officials over the martial law declaration.
“Kim made the attempt on his life before a formal arrest warrant was issued late Tuesday, and the incident took place in a bathroom. When a corrections officer opened the bathroom door, Kim gave up on the attempt. He has been moved to an isolation room and has no health issues,” Shin said.
The former defence minister, who resigned from his position on Thursday last week, was detained on Sunday, December 8, and is accused of convening with military commanders and issuing readiness orders to the armed forces as part of the martial law plan.
Before his resignation as defence minister, Kim confessed in a statement that “all troops who performed duties related to martial law were acting on my instructions, and all responsibility lies with me.”
He later apologised to the general public and the lawmakers for all the inconveniences that the martial law declaration caused in the country.
Meanwhile, the National Police Agency has also reported the detention of Commissioner General Cho Ji Ho and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, as they wait for their formal arrest warrant. These are accused of their involvement in deploying police forces to the National Assembly to block lawmakers during the martial law declaration.
The arrests and investigations focus on whether Yoon, Kim, and other top officials are guilty of causing a mutiny, which carries a potential death penalty or life imprisonment under South Korean laws.
