S. Korean national, capital police chiefs arrested on insurrection charges

SEOUL -- Police arrested early Wednesday South Korea's police commissioner and the Seoul police chief in connection with a probe into President Yoon Suk-yeol's short-lived martial law imposition, Yonhap news agency reported.

Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, were arrested on insurrection charges, according to a special investigation team under the national police.

The two police chiefs were suspected of instructing police officers to cordon off the National Assembly compound to block lawmakers from attending a plenary session for a vote against the imposition of the emergency martial law.

Police made the arrest in consideration of seriousness of the charges and the possibility of destruction of evidence by the two officers, Yonhap said, citing police sources.

Authorities had previously confiscated the two officers' cellphones and placed travel bans on them.