South Korean investigators on Friday attempted to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree last month, as hundreds of his supporters gathered near his residence in Seoul, vowing to protect him.
About 20 investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police officers were seen entering the gate of Yoon’s residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for his detention.
It wasn’t clear whether the president would cooperate with authorities trying to detain him.
Yoon, in a defiant New Year’s message to conservative supporters rallying outside his residence, said he would “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces.” His lawyers have described the warrant to detain him as “invalid” and “illegal.”
The anti-corruption agency didn’t immediately confirm whether investigators had successfully entered Yoon’s residential building. South Korea’s YTN television reported that there were scuffles as investigators and police confronted the presidential security forces.
Investigators from the anti-corruption agency were seen earlier loading boxes into several vehicles before leaving their building in the city of Gwacheon early in the morning. Television footage later showed some of those vehicles weaving between police buses that tightly packed and barricaded the streets near Yoon’s residence.
A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday after he evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office in Seoul, hindering an investigation into whether his declaration of martial law on December 3 amounted to rebellion.
The warrant is valid for one week, and investigators may make another attempt to detain Yoon if they are unable to do so on Friday.
Protesters at Yoon’s home
Thousands of police officers were gathered at Yoon’s residence and were forming a perimeter around a growing number of pro-Yoon protesters, who waved South Korean flags and shouted slogans in his support. There were no immediate reports of clashes.
If Yoon is detained, the anti-corruption agency will have 48 hours to investigate him and either request a warrant for his formal arrest or release him. Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the martial law declaration.
Yoon’s lawyers have argued the court’s detainment warrant is invalid, claiming that the anti-corruption agency lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges. They also accuse the court of bypassing a law that says locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge.
Yoon Kap-keun, one of Yoon’s lawyers, described the investigators’ efforts to detain the president as illegal and said they would plan to pursue unspecified legal steps against the anti-corruption agency.
Oh Dong-woon, the anti-corruption agency’s chief prosecutor, had indicated that police might be deployed if the presidential security service resisted detention.
But Yoon’s legal team issued a statement on Thursday warning that any attempt by the anti-corruption agency to use police for his detention would exceed their legal authority. The lawyers said police could face arrest by either the “presidential security service or any citizens” if they tried to detain Yoon. They didn’t elaborate.
South Korean law permits anyone to make an arrest to stop an active crime, and critics accused Yoon of inciting his supporters to obstruct attempts to detain him.
Legal challenge
Yoon Kap-keun, the president’s lawyer, filed a challenge with the Seoul Western District Court on Thursday to block both the detention warrant for Yoon Suk Yeol and a related search warrant for his residence. The lawyer argued that both warrants violated criminal laws and the constitution.
The liberal opposition Democratic Party, which drove the legislative vote that impeached Yoon Suk Yeol on December 14 over his imposition of martial law, accused the president of trying to mobilize his supporters to block his detention and called for law enforcement authorities to execute the warrant immediately.
Braving subfreezing temperatures, thousands of Yoon’s supporters rallied for hours near his residence on Thursday amid a heavy police presence, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting, “We will protect President Yoon Suk Yeol!” Officers removed some protesters lying on a road leading to the entrance of Yoon’s residence, but there were no immediate reports of major clashes.
Some experts believe the anti-corruption agency, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities, will not risk clashing with the presidential security service, which has said it will provide security to Yoon in accordance with the law. The office may instead issue another summons for Yoon to appear for questioning if it is not able to execute the detainment warrant by the January 6 deadline.
Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended following a National Assembly vote to impeach him on December 14 over his imposition of martial law, which lasted only hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.
To formally end Yoon’s presidency, at least six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor.
Prime minister impeached
The National Assembly voted last week to also impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of Yoon’s case.
Facing growing pressure, the new acting president, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, appointed two new justices on Tuesday, which possibly increased the chances that the court would uphold Yoon’s impeachment.
Yoon’s imposition of martial law ended after only six hours when the National Assembly voted 190-0 to lift it, despite attempts by heavily armed soldiers to prevent them from voting.
Yoon has defended his martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, portraying it as a temporary warning against the Democratic Party, which he has described as an “anti-state” force obstructing his agenda with its legislative majority.
