Authorities on Friday sought to execute an arrest warrant to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, as a crowd of protesters confronted police outside his residence and vowed to stop any further efforts.
Yoon is under criminal investigation for insurrection over his short-lived martial law attempt on 3 December. The arrest would be unprecedented for a sitting South Korean president.
Corruption Investigations Office (CIO) officials, who are leading a joint team of investigators that includes police and prosecutors, shortly after 7 a.m. (2200 GMT Thursday), according to Reuters witnesses. Reached the gate of Yun’s compound. ,
Yonhap news agency reported that about 3,000 police were deployed in preparation.
It was unclear whether the Presidential Security Service, which has blocked investigators’ access to Yun’s office and official residence with a search warrant, would try to prevent the arrest.
Media reports said CIO vehicles were not able to enter the premises immediately.
Protesters gathered near his residence early in the morning, with the number growing into the hundreds amid media reports that investigating authorities would soon attempt to execute the arrest warrant that Yoon served on Tuesday after he refused a summons to appear. Was approved.
One was heard saying to the others, “We have to stop them with our lives.” About a dozen protesters tried to block a group of police officers at the entrance to the pedestrian overpass.
Some people chanted “President Yoon Suk Yeol will be protected by the people” and called for the head of the CIO to be arrested.
Pyong In-su, 74, said police had to be stopped by “patriotic citizens”, the term Yun used for guards standing near his residence.
Holding a flag of the United States and South Korea with the words “Let’s go together” in English and Korean, Pyong said he hoped incoming US President Donald Trump would come to Yun’s aid.
“I hope that after Trump’s inauguration he can use his influence to help get our country back on the right path,” he said.
Yun shocked the country by announcing late on December 3 that he was imposing martial law to break the political deadlock and root out “anti-state forces.”
However, within a few hours, 190 lawmakers had broken through the cordon and police cordon to vote against Yun’s order. About six hours after his initial order, Yoon canceled it.
He later defended his decision, saying domestic political rivals were sympathetic to North Korea and citing unconfirmed claims of election tampering.
Rebellion is one of the few criminal charges from which the South Korean president is not immune.
Yoon’s lawyers have said that the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid because the CIO did not have the authority under South Korean law to request a warrant.
Yun has been isolated since he was impeached on December 14 and suspended from power.
Separate from the criminal investigation, his impeachment case is currently before the Constitutional Court to decide whether he should be reinstated or permanently removed. A second hearing in that case is scheduled for later Friday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
