By Hyunsu Yim
SEOUL (Reuters) – A former South Korean defence minister charged with insurrection over his role in a short-lived martial law declaration has praised protesters who stormed a court over last month’s decision to extend President Yoon Suk Yeol’s detention.
Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned after the Dec. 3 martial law and is now in prison, called those who stormed the court “patriotic warriors”, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
In a letter shared by his lawyer, Kim said he would use the donations he received from his supporters to help those arrested after the incident.
Hundreds of angry supporters of the arrested president stormed the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 19, smashing windows and equipment inside while some live-streamed the scene. Some reporters were assaulted, video footage showed.
More than 60 people have been arrested, many of them in their 20s and 30s, according to local media reports.
“While these young men are experiencing difficulties, their spirit to save the country and patriotism should not be forgotten and remembered for a long time,” Kim said in the letter.
While polls show a majority of South Koreans support the impeachment of Yoon, the embattled leader has found an ally among young conservative men.
Popular pro-Yoon YouTubers, some of them conservative men in their 30s, have used their online reach to mobilise support and assert unsubstantiated claims that South Korean elections were marred by fraud, echoing one of Yoon’s justifications for briefly imposing martial law on Dec. 3 in a move that shocked the nation.
Days after that short-lived declaration of martial law, Kim tried to commit suicide inside a detention centre, a justice ministry official told parliament.
The former defence minister who is a close confidant of Yoon was the first official to be arrested over the president’s imposition of martial law.
During Yoon’s impeachment trial, Kim defended the president and said he never intended to fully implement martial law.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Ed Davies and Kate Mayberry)
