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South Korea’s ex-defense minister detained over martial law declaration, reports say
South Korean prosecutors on Sunday detained a former defense minister who allegedly recommended last week’s brief but stunning martial law imposition to President Yoon Suk Yeol, making him the first figure detained over the case, news reports said.
The reported development came a day after Yoon avoided an opposition-led bid to impeach him in parliament, with most ruling party lawmakers boycotting a floor vote to prevent the two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The main liberal opposition Democratic Party said it will prepare a new impeachment motion against Yoon.
However, according to Agence France-Presse, Yoon’s ruling People Power Party said in a statement Sunday that it had “effectively obtained (Yoon’s) promise to step down.”
“Until the president steps down, the president will be effectively excluded from his duties,” it said in the statement, per AFP.
People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo were set to meet later Sunday to discuss plans for Yoon’s “orderly retreat”, the party said.
On Sunday, ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun voluntarily appeared at a Seoul prosecutors’ office, where he had his mobile phone confiscated and was detained, Yonhap news agency reported.
Other South Korean media carried similar reports, saying Kim was moved to a Seoul detention center. The reports said police were searching Kim’s former office and residence on Sunday.
Repeated calls to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office were unanswered. An official at the detention facility in eastern Seoul hung up the phone when The Associated Press called.
Yoon accepted Kim’s resignation offer on Thursday after opposition parties submitted a separate impeachment motion against him.
Kim is a central figure in Yoon’s martial law enforcement, which led to special forces troops encircling the National Assembly building and army helicopters hovering over it. The military withdrew after the parliament unanimously voted to overturn Yoon’s decree, forcing his Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.
In Kim’s impeachment motion document, the Democratic Party and other opposition parties accused him of proposing martial law to Yoon. Ruling party leader Han Dong-hun made a similar comment on Kim’s role. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho told parliament that Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.
The Democratic Party called Yoon’s martial law imposition “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or a coup.” It has filed complaints with police against at least nine people, including Yoon and Kim, over the alleged rebellion.
In a statement distributed by the Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Kim said that “all troops who performed duties related to martial law were acting on my instructions, and all responsibility lies with me.”
Prosecutor General Shim Woo Jung told reporters on Thursday the prosecution plans to investigate the rebellion charges against Yoon following complaints filed by the opposition.
While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, that does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. It wasn’t immediately clear how the prosecution plans to proceed with an investigation into Yoon.
The Defense Ministry said it has suspended three top military commanders over their alleged involvement in the martial law imposition. They were among those facing the opposition-raised rebellion allegations.
On Saturday, Yoon issued an apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose it. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.”
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.”
The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. The turmoil has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the U.S. and Japan.
The scrapping of Yoon’s impeachment motion is expected to intensify protests calling for his ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment.
Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party, but it is determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals.
CBS News
NYPD divers search for UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting weapon in Central Park lake, sources say
NEW YORK — New York City Police Department divers were seen searching the lake in Central Park on Saturday afternoon. Sources tell CBS News New York they were looking for the weapon used in the deadly shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this week outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
The search came one day after police found a backpack in Central Park, which law enforcement officials say they believe belongs to the suspected gunman. Sources told CBS News New York that the backpack contained a jacket, but not the gun police believe was used in the crime. The backpack is now being analyzed at an NYPD forensic lab for possible hair and DNA samples, sources say.
Sources said divers were searching the lake around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Citizen app video shows police tape on the southern end of the lake in Central Park, in the same area where the backpack was found. Park-goers said they didn’t see officers leave with anything after the dive.
“This corner, like not a big area, but this corner was blocked off with probably five policemen, one van, and then we saw scuba gear and a couple divers getting in, just kind of splashing around, looking only in this area,” a witness named Charlotte D. said.
Police closing in on person of interest in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, mayor says
Mayor Eric Adams, who spoke to reporters at a Police Athletic League event in Harlem on Saturday, said police are closing in on finding the person of interest who had been staying at an Upper West Side hostel and was caught on camera without his mask on.
Adams also said police know the suspected gunman’s name, but are not sharing it publicly.
“We don’t want to release that now. If you do, you are basically giving a tip to the person … we’re seeking, and we do not want to give him an upper hand at all. Let him continue to believe he can hide behind the mask,” Adams said.
According to police, the person of interest was seen on camera entering the Port Authority bus terminal in Washington Heights after the shooting Wednesday morning and has now likely left the city.
The investigation is ongoing.
CBS News
LA Galaxy take home record sixth MLS Cup with 2-1 win over New York Red Bulls
Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic scored in the first half, and the LA Galaxy won their record sixth MLS Cup championship with a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
After striking twice in the first 13 minutes of the final with goals from their star forwards, the Galaxy nursed their lead through a scoreless second half to raise their league’s biggest trophy for the first time since 2014.
MLS’ most successful franchise struggled through most of the ensuing decade, even finishing 26th in the 29-team league last year. But the Galaxy turned everything around this season with a high-scoring new lineup that finished second in the Western Conference and then streaked through the playoffs with a whopping 18 goals in five games to win another crown.
Sean Nealis scored for the seventh-seeded Red Bulls, whose improbable charge through the playoffs ended one win shy of its first Cup championship. With the league’s youngest roster, New York fell just short of becoming the lowest-seeded team to win MLS’ playoff tournament under first-year German coach Sandro Schwarz.
Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy made four saves to win his second MLS title in three seasons. He was the MVP of the 2022 MLS Cup Final for the Galaxy’s crosstown rival, Los Angeles FC.
The Galaxy won this title without perhaps their most important player. Riqui Puig, the playmaking midfielder from Barcelona who ran their offense impressively all season long, tore a ligament in his knee last week in the Western Conference final.
Puig watched the game in a suit, but his teammates hadn’t forgotten him: After his replacement, Gastón Brugman, set up LA’s opening goal with a superb pass, Paintsil held up Puig’s jersey to their fans during the celebration.
Paintsil put the Galaxy ahead in the ninth minute when he ran onto that sublime pass from Brugman and pounded home his 14th MLS goal — including four in the playoffs — in the Ghanaian forward’s outstanding first season.
Just four minutes later, Joveljic sprinted past four New York defenders and chipped home the 21st goal of his outstanding year as the Galaxy’s striker.
Nealis got New York on the scoreboard in the 28th minute when he volleyed home a ball that got loose in LA’s penalty area after a corner. The Galaxy’s usually shaky defense gave up another handful of good chances before reaching halftime with a tenuous lead.
The second half was lively, but scoreless. Red Bulls captain Emil Forsberg hit the outside of the post in the 72nd minute, while Gabriel Pec and Galaxy substitute Marco Reus nearly converted chances a few moments later.
The ball got loose again in the Galaxy’s penalty area in the third minute of extra time, but two Red Bulls couldn’t finish. The Galaxy bench rushed onto the field and prematurely celebrated a victory in the seventh minute of injury time, only to be herded back off for another 30 seconds of play.
The Galaxy finished 17-0-3 this season at their frequently renamed suburban stadium, where the sellout crowd of 26,812 for the final included several robust cheering sections of traveling Red Bulls supporters hoping to see their New Jersey-based club’s breakthrough on MLS’ biggest stage.
The Galaxy’s Greg Vanney became the fourth coach to win an MLS title with two clubs. The former Galaxy player also won it all with Toronto in 2017.
The club famous for employing global stars from David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Robbie Keane and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández rebuilt itself this season with lesser-known young talents from around the world.
The Galaxy signed Pec from Brazil and the Ghanaian Paintsil out of Belgium, and the duo combined with incumbent Serbian striker Joveljic to form a potent attack that could outscore almost any MLS opponent.
But the Galaxy also relied heavily on Puig, their Catalan catalyst and one of MLS’ best players. Puig stayed in last week’s game after injuring his knee, and he even delivered the decisive pass to Joveljic for the game’s only goal.