Demonstrators hold placards that read "Dismantle the People Power Party that is complicit in insurrection" during a protest in Seoul on Wednesday -- AFP SEOUL, Dec 11 (Reuters/AP): South Korean police raided the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol, a presidential security official said on Wednesday, in a widening investigation into the embattled leader's failed attempt to impose martial law.
Separately, Kim Yong-hyun, former defence minister and a close confidant of Yoon, attempted suicide at a detention centre where he is held after being arrested, a Justice Ministry official told a parliament hearing.
A presidential security service official confirmed to Reuters that police raided Yoon's office. The national police agency declined to immediately confirm the search. Yonhap news agency said police investigators presented a search warrant that specified Yoon as the subject.
PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would manage state affairs while the party looks for an "orderly" way for the president to resign.
Former defence minister
tries to kill himself
South Korea's previous defense minister was stopped from attempting suicide while in detention over last week's martial law, officials said.
The main liberal opposition Democratic Party also plans to submit a new motion to impeach Yoon for his Dec. 3 declaration that imposed martial law.
Yoon's ill-conceived power grab has paralyzed South Korean politics, frozen its foreign policy, and rattled financial markets, greatly reducing his chances of completing his five-year term and casting a turbulent shadow over one of Asia's most robust democracies.
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