South Korea: Investigators still can’t arrest Yoon Suk-yeol

Investigators who came to arrest suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday for his failed attempt to impose martial law breached the wall of his official home, television footage showed.

Investigators entered the presidential residence “using ladders” and passed through a “second barricade”, the Yonhap news agency said, with television channels showing authorities entering the compound. The staff of the CIO, the entity which centralizes the investigations into Yoon Suk-yeol, accompanied by the police, had launched their second attempt to arrest the leader well before dawn.

They were first blocked from entering by unidentified people, with Yonhap reporting a “standoff” with the Presidential Security Service (PSS), responsible for protecting heads of state. The PSS has already failed a first descent on January 3.

Yoon Suk-yeol, suspended from his functions, risks his position and is prosecuted for “rebellion” for having briefly established martial law on December 3, a shock measure that he had justified by his desire to protect the country from “communist forces North Koreans” and “eliminate elements hostile to the State”.

“Physical confrontation”

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, Yoon Suk-yeol had to comply.

“The execution of the presidential arrest warrant has started. The situation is a crucial moment to maintain order and the rule of law in South Korea,” interim President Choi Sang-mok said in a statement, recalling “the importance of avoiding physical conflict” .

The investigators, who warned that they would apprehend anyone who obstructed them, were caught in a “physical confrontation as they tried to enter the presidential residence by force,” Yonhap said, without saying who was involved in the opposing camp.

Punches

Punches flew from both sides, according to an AFP journalist. At least one person was injured after falling during the altercation and was exfiltrated by firefighters, television images showed. Meanwhile, investigators are trying to access the site via a nearby hiking trail, according to Yonhap TV.

In front of the presidential home, supporters chant at the top of their lungs “Illegal mandate!” waving American flags. In addition, some 30 deputies from Yoon Suk-yeol’s People Power Party (PPP) are on site to protect their leader, Yonhap said.

The IOC and the police began to disperse the pro-Yoon crowd blocking the passage, according to images from the agency, which added that the police would arrest the — interim — leader of the PSS due to the obstruction which this unit is engaged in.

Chaos

The country has been plunged into political chaos since Yoon Suk-yeol’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.

Start of his trial

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 Yoon Suk-yeol “at a third 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.

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.

“Latest news”

Want to stay on top of the news? “24 Heures” offers you two appointments per day, directly in your email box. So you don’t miss anything that’s happening in your Canton, in Switzerland or around the world.

Other newsletters

Log in

AFP

Did you find an error? Please report it to us.

0 comments