Former South Korean Acting Presidents Banned From Travel Amid Insurrection Probe

South Korean authorities hit two former acting presidents with travel bans as part of an investigation into their involvement in an alleged insurrection connected with former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law last year, Al Jazeera reported. 

Police imposed the travel bans on former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok this month. Both are suspects in the insurrection probe and were questioned Monday by a special police unit, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.  

After Yoon’s impeachment in December, which was upheld by the Constitutional Court in April, Han and Choi’s roles during the former president’s bid to impose martial law have come under scrutiny, raising questions about whether they resisted the insurrection as they claimed, wrote Reuters.  

Yoon – in office for nearly three years – declared martial law in December 2024, but it was reversed by lawmakers a few hours later. The move plunged South Korea into an unprecedented constitutional crisis that then saw Han and Choi serving as acting presidents.

South Korea will hold a snap election on June 3 to elect a new president. Han attempted to run as the candidate for the ruling conservative People Power Party, but was forced to withdraw due to internal disputes, leading to rival Kim Moon-soo’s nomination.