Ministry of Justice Inspector General Submits Resignation Over President Yoon's 'Martial Law Declaration'

Ryu Hyuk, Ministry of Justice Inspector General, Submits Resignation in Protest Against Emergency Martial Law

Ryu Hyuk, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice, tendered his resignation to the Ministry on the 3rd regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law.

According to the legal community on the 4th, Inspector General Ryu submitted his resignation letter to the Ministry of Justice the previous day. It is reported that Ryu submitted his resignation to Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae immediately after attending a martial law-related meeting convened by Minister Park, expressing that he could not agree with the martial law.

Inspector General Ryu retired from the prosecution in 2019 as the head of the Tongyeong Branch Office and was appointed as the Ministry of Justice Inspector General in July 2020, with his term set to expire in early July next year.

On the previous day around 10:30 p.m., President Yoon delivered an emergency special address to the nation at the Yongsan Presidential Office, stating, "To protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces and to eradicate the shameless pro-North anti-state forces who plunder the freedom and happiness of our people at once, and to uphold the free constitutional order, I hereby declare martial law."

In response, the National Assembly convened an early morning plenary session on the 4th and passed a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law with 190 votes in favor out of 190 members present.