The top commander of the Army and the general who was briefly martial law commander a month ago were indicted by prosecutors on Friday, on charges of insurrection and abuse of power over their alleged roles in the Dec. 3 martial law imposition.
Prosecutors indicted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su, who served as martial law commander, and Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, under detention, accusing them of playing "key roles in the act of insurrection" tied to the military's attempt to take control of the National Assembly on the night of the martial law imposition.
Park was named martial law commander when President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late in the evening of Dec. 3. Under Park's name, the military launched a martial law command, which proclaimed an "unconstitutional" decree banning all political activities as troops were deployed to enter the Assembly's main building, where the plenary chamber is located, according to prosecutors.
Kwak allegedly deployed special forces units, including the 707 Special Mission Group, a counterterrorism unit, to the Assembly in an attempt to secure the parliament and block lawmakers from passing a motion to overturn martial law.
The indictment will officially forward the two suspects, who were placed under arrest, to trial.
