Seoul, Jan 1 (IANS): Senior aides of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, including his chief of staff, offered to resign Wednesday, a day after acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two justices to the Constitutional Court.
Those who expressed their intents to resign include Chung Jin-suk, the presidential chief of staff; National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik; Sung Tae-yoon, chief of staff for policy; and Chang Ho-jin, foreign policy adviser to Yoon, according to the presidential office.
Choi on Tuesday appointed two justices to the Constitutional Court, partially meeting the opposition's demand to fill three vacancies on the nine-member bench before a ruling on President Yoon's impeachment, Yonhap news agency reported.
The presidential office voiced regret over Choi's appointments, saying that he has gone beyond his authority as an interim leader.
By law, at least six votes are required to uphold an impeachment motion, which means the appointment of three additional justices could improve chances of Yoon's impeachment being upheld. The court has up to six months to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.
Yoon, impeached by the National Assembly last month, is also facing a criminal investigation over his failed martial law declaration on December 3.
The resignation offers by Yoon's top aides also come after a Seoul court issued a warrant to detain Yoon on Tuesday, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest. Yoon is suspected of masterminding the martial law declaration, orchestrating an insurrection and abusing power.
Earlier on Tuesday, Yoon's legal defence team plans to seek an injunction to suspend a detention warrant issued against the impeached president over his failed martial law bid, one of his lawyers said on Tuesday, while criticising the warrant as 'illegal.'
The Seoul Western District Court approved a request from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to issue the warrant for Yoon on charges of masterminding the botched December 3 martial law declaration, orchestrating the insurrection and abusing power, according to the CIO.
The court also approved a warrant to search Yoon's presidential residence in Seoul's Yongsan in connection with the investigation.