The president of South Korea has been banned from traveling abroad

South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol has been banned from leaving the country after a failed attempt to impose martial law.

This was reported by a representative of the countryʼs Ministry of Justice, Reuters reports.

The Defense Ministry said on Monday that Yoon was still legally the commander-in-chief, but his authority was in question as dissent from the president grew among senior military officers and his own party said it would set up a task force to look into his possible resignation.

Oh Dong-won, head of the Office for the Investigation of High-Level Official Corruption, said he had ordered Yoon Seok Yeol to be banned from traveling abroad.

Ministry of Justice representative Bae Sang Up told the committee that the travel ban had been enforced.

The commission was created in 2021 to investigate the activities of high-ranking officials, including the president and members of his family, but it does not have the power to prosecute the president. Instead, according to the law, she is obliged to transfer the case to the prosecutorʼs office.

What preceded

Yoon Seok Yeol declared martial law in the country on the night of December 3-4 to "protect the constitutional order" — the first time since the 1980s. The reason was that the opposition Democratic Party of South Korea, which has a majority in parliament, rejected the governmentʼs budget proposal and decided to impeach the state auditor and the chief prosecutor.

An hour later, South Koreaʼs parliament passed a resolution calling for martial law to be lifted. The South Korean government supported the "plan to lift martial law" as demanded by the parliament. Martial law lasted for about six hours.

When parliamentarians adopted the resolution, people sang the national anthem and applauded in the streets. According to preliminary estimates, four thousand citizens gathered near the parliament building.

On December 8, Yoon Seok Yeol was charged with treason and abuse of power.

• President Yoon Seok Yeol has low approval ratings in the country, particularly due to rising food and housing prices, labour conflicts and a sharp drop in the birth rate. The presidentʼs reputation has also been under fire over a hidden camera video of First Lady Kim Keon Hee allegedly accepting a $2 200 Dior bag as a gift.

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