S. Korean court issues arrest warrants for top police officers

SEOUL -- A South Korean court on Friday issued arrest warrants for heads of national and Seoul police agencies for their roles in President Yoon Suk-yeol's brief imposition of martial law last week.

The Seoul Central District Court said that it has issued arrest warrants for Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, considering the possibility that the two might destroy evidence.

The two top police officers had been arrested Wednesday under emergency arrest without warrants, and taken into custody at Seoul Namdaemun Police Station.

Earlier in the evening, prosecutors arrested Lee Jin-woo, chief of the Capital Defense Command, as part of their ongoing investigations into his alleged involvement in Yoon's martial law declaration.

Lee, who had previously been placed under a travel ban, was accused of ordering the deployment of martial law troops to the National Assembly building after Yoon declared martial law on Dec 3.