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Investigators who came to arrest suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday for his failed attempt to impose martial law are engaged in a new face-to-face with his bodyguards. This blocks their operation, noted AFP.
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January 14, 2025 – 10:47 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) Agents of the CIO, the entity which centralizes the investigations into Mr. Yoon, “are in an impasse facing the Presidential Security Service (PSS) after showing their warrants”, including an arrest order, reported for its part Yonhap News Agency. The PSS has already failed their first attempt on January 3.
Mr. Yoon, 64, risks his mandate for having briefly introduced martial law on December 3, a shock measure that he had justified by his desire to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces” and to “eliminate elements hostile to the State.
Within a Parliament surrounded by soldiers, a sufficient number of deputies quickly thwarted his plans by voting for a text demanding the lifting of this state of exception. Put under pressure by elected officials, thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators and constrained by the Constitution, Mr. Yoon had to comply.
Investigators on site
Two investigators’ vehicles arrived at his home before dawn Wednesday, according to Yonhap. Live television broadcasts showed IOC personnel, accompanied by police, attempting to enter Mr. Yoon’s residence but being blocked by unidentified people.
Investigators, who have warned they will apprehend anyone obstructing them, are engaged in a “physical confrontation as they try to forcefully enter the presidential residence,” Yonhap said.
Thousands of resolute supporters of the former star prosecutor are massed in front of his home to protect him, AFP journalists noted.
Political chaos
The country has been plunged into political chaos since Mr. Yoon’s coup, suspended on December 14 after the National Assembly adopted an impeachment motion against him.
CIO investigators had first tried to apprehend him on January 3 but came up against the Presidential Security Service (PSS) determined not to let them do so, putting an end to their operation after six hours of face-to-face confrontation. tense face.
Yoon Suk Yeol’s protection officers had been strengthening the defenses of his home for days, with barbed wire and bus barriers blocking the entrance.
If arrested, which would be a first for a sitting South Korean head of state, Yoon Suk Yeol can be held in police custody for 48 hours under the active warrant. Investigators will have to request a new one to possibly extend their decision.
“Invalid” order
The legal team of the former star magistrate, holed up at home for weeks, describes the order to arrest him as “invalid”. His chief of staff, Chung Jin-suk, said Tuesday that his office was “ready to consider all options for investigations and visits” to Mr. Yoon “at a third party location.”
Also on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court launched the examination of the dismissal of the conservative leader, with a first very short hearing in his absence.
His lawyers had expressed his willingness to come and explain himself but not during this inaugural session, citing “concerns” regarding security.
Until mid-June
The trial will continue even without him and four other sessions are scheduled for Thursday, January 21 and 23, as well as February 4.
The court has until mid-June to decide the future of Yoon Suk Yeol, still officially the president pending the verdict. The court may either permanently dismiss him or reinstate him in his functions.
