South Korea’s military is grappling with a deepening leadership void as commanders of key units are caught up in the sweeping investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 martial law decree. Prosecutors have sought arrest warrants for the accused generals, all of whom have been dismissed from their posts.

Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, former head of the Capital Defense Command, and Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-geun, former chief of the Special Warfare Command, appeared at a pretrial detention hearing at the Central Regional Military Court in Yongsan, Seoul on Monday, following the prosecution’s request for arrest warrants the previous day.

Both Lee and Kwak face charges related to their deployment of military personnel to the National Assembly on the night of martial law.

Police detained Maj. Gen. Moon Sang-ho, former head of the Defense Intelligence Command, on Sunday, also on charges related to ordering troops to the National Assembly.

On Saturday, Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, former chief of the Defense Counterintelligence Command was also arrested by the prosecution. Yeo is accused of planning the martial law framework and deploying military personnel to state institutions on the night of the martial law.

The prosecution sought an arrest warrant Sunday for Gen. Park An-su, the former Army Chief of Staff, on charges of distributing the martial law decree and coordinating the plot with Yoon on Dec. 3.

The post of Army Chief of Staff has been vacant since the Defense Ministry suspended Park from his duties on Thursday, citing his inability to perform his role amid ongoing investigations into his involvement in the martial law declaration.

Gen. Go Chang-jun, former chief of the Army 2nd Operations Command, has been appointed as the acting Army Chief of Staff.

However, the Defense Ministry on Monday said that South Korea's armed forces remain operational despite the leadership void, with duties handled by acting officials amid the suspension or detention of several high-ranking officers.

Jeon Ha-kyu, the Defense Ministry's spokesperson, said that their duties are being performed by acting officials under the coordination of acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho -- who took the role after former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was arrested over allegations that he proposed the martial law plan to President Yoon.

To address growing concerns over security risks amid the expanding void in military leadership, the Joint Chiefs of Staff assured the public that systems for monitoring North Korean forces and responding to provocations remain unaffected, emphasizing that the posts impacted by the martial law scandal are not directly relevant to such operations.