South Korean investigators abandoned their attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence on Friday in a failed martial law attempt, citing security concerns following a standoff with his security team.
Yoon, who has already been suspended from duty by lawmakers, would become the first sitting president to be arrested in South Korean history if the warrant is executed.
The president, who issued a confusing declaration on December 3 that shook the vibrant East Asian democracy and pushed it briefly back into the dark days of military rule, faces prison or, in a worst-case scenario, the death penalty. Will have to.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is investigating Yun’s martial law decree, said in a statement, “In connection with the execution of the arrest warrant today, it was determined that due to the ongoing standoff the execution could not be effectively It was impossible.”
“The decision was taken to halt the arrest attempt due to concern for the safety of personnel on the scene,” the statement said of Yoon’s confrontation with the Presidential Security Service and his military unit.
The warrant’s deadline is Monday, leaving it in limbo with just days to go, and Yoon has vowed to “fight” authorities who interrogated him earlier this week.
CIO investigators, including senior prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan, were first allowed to enter the residence through heavy security barricades to attempt to execute their warrant to detain Yoon.
But troops under the Presidential Security Service at one point became involved in “a confrontation with the CIO at the presidential residence,” an official with Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP.
Before canceling the execution of the court-approved warrant, Yoon’s security detail told AFP that they were “negotiating” with CIO investigators who were seeking access to the president.
Yoon’s security service – which still protects Yoon as the country’s current head of state – has previously prevented an attempted police raid on the presidential office.
The president himself has ignored three rounds of subpoenas from investigators, prompting them to seek warrants.
Yoon’s legal team – which rushed to the residence and was let in by AFP – condemned the attempt to execute an arrest warrant, and vowed to take further legal action against the move.
Yoon’s lawyer Yoon Kap-kyun said, “The execution of the illegal and invalid warrant is not actually lawful.”
Prosecutors on Friday also indicted two top military officers on rebellion charges, one of whom was briefly named martial law commander during last month’s unrest, Yonhap reported. Both were already in custody.
AFP correspondents saw dozens of police buses and hundreds of uniformed policemen lined up on the road outside the compound in central Seoul.
After Yoon’s supporters clashed with anti-Yoon protesters on Thursday, about 2,700 police and 135 police buses were deployed to the area to prevent clashes, Yonhap reported.
all night prayers
South Korean media reported that CIO officials wanted to arrest Yoon and take him to their office in Gwacheon, near Seoul, for questioning.
After that, he could be detained for up to 48 hours on the existing warrant. Investigators will have to apply for another arrest warrant to keep him in custody.
After staging chaotic protests on Thursday, a handful of Yoon’s staunchest supporters, including far-right YouTube personalities and evangelical Christian preachers, camped outside his compound in the freezing cold – some holding all-night prayer sessions Was.
They called for the arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung early Friday and chanted “The illegal warrant is invalid” as police and media gathered outside the residence.
Yoon supporter Rae Kang-san told AFP that many people were “on the president’s side” to avoid attempted arrest.
Yoon supporter Lee Hye-suk, 57, said protesters were trying to stop opposition figures from “attempting to turn our country into a socialist state similar to North Korea.”
Yoon has doubled down on claims that the opposition was colluding with South Korea’s communist enemies.
Yoon’s legal team has already moved to the Constitutional Court to try to block the arrest warrant, calling it “unlawful.”
But CIO chief Oh Dong-woon has warned that anyone trying to prevent authorities from arresting Yoon could face prosecution.
South Korean authorities have previously failed to execute similar arrest warrants for lawmakers in 2000 and 2004, because party members and supporters blocked police for seven days after the warrants were valid.
Yun will also face a separate Constitutional Court hearing that will confirm or reject his impeachment by parliament.
In rare comments about the South’s politics, North Korean state media said Friday that Seoul was in “political chaos” over efforts to arrest Yun.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)