A progressive party has reported former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn to the police, accusing him of inciting insurrection over his remarks warning the the Constitutional Court of “uncontrollable riots," should it decide to confirm President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
“In a democratic society, there is no freedom to incite insurrection,” said a spokeperson for Jinbo Party, a minor opposition progressive party that filed the complaint, holding a press conference in front of Seoul’s Jongno Police Station on Thursday morning.
“Those inciting a second insurrection, including Hwang Kyo-ahn and (People Power Party Rep.) Yoon Sang-hyun, should be punished severely," the official added.
Hwang, who served as acting president of South Korea for 5 months between President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment and a snap presidential election, made the controversial remarks Wednesday, while submitting a petition to the top court, urging it to dismiss the parliamentary impeachment and reinstate President Yoon. He claimed 1,054,239 people had signed the petition.
Hwang also argued that Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 was an inevitable step to uncover the truth about election fraud.
President Yoon has maintained that his decision to deploy troops to the National Election Commission on the night of the martial law declaration was based on a National Intelligence Service investigation conducted from July to September 2023.
The agency identified issues with vote counting and the management system while assessing the NEC’s security, but the NEC refused to act on the findings.
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