A human wall
On Friday morning, a team from the Senior Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) which is centralizing the “rebellion” investigation into Yoon Suk-yeol entered the presidential residence to try to arrest the deposed president, who had previously ignored three subpoenas for questioning.
Arriving in five cars, whose journey was followed live since dawn by South Korean television, the team was initially blocked by around ten vehicles blocking the access path. She finally managed to enter the property “by taking a circuitous path on the hillside,” an IOC official told a press briefing.
The hundred police officers and prosecutors from the CIO then found themselves faced with “more than 200 people who were holding hands to block our way,” he continued, adding that there had been “ minor and major physical altercations” between the two camps. After around forty minutes of tense face-to-face confrontation with the presidential bodyguards, the IOC decided to retreat, fearing for its safety. According to the Qatari channel Al Jazeera, the execution of the mandate is becoming “practically impossible”, according to the anti-corruption office.
Investigators have until Monday to execute the arrest warrant issued by a Seoul court for Yoon Suk-yeol, which expires after seven days. In a letter to his supporters on Wednesday, the deposed leader promised to “fight until the end”.
-White House and Blue House
On the American side, the crisis is worrying. This political and judicial confusion experienced by South Korea – a key ally of the United States in Asia – “coincides with the transition to the White House of an American president who is wary of defense agreements with his allies, including Seoul” , recalls the Washington Post. “This prolonged political vacuum” raises serious concerns about its impact on the alliance of the two states. A cooperation which has played – and still plays – an essential role in terms of security to contain North Korea and limit the rise of China. Ditto for the New York Times which recalled that “Yoon Suk-yeol’s diplomatic program could be one of the main victims of his fall.”
And the alliance can be seen in the flags displayed by the crowd, as indicated by the British daily The Guardian. On Friday morning, conservative supporters of Yoon’s People Power Party gathered in front of the Blue House – the presidential residence, given the color of its roofs – and waved the two national flags: the South Korean Taegukgi at the sides of the Stars and Stripes American flag. “An unexpected combination that reflects the adoption of the rhetoric of the American right, particularly around allegations of electoral fraud and religious values.”
According to the Singapore media The Straits Times, the interim president of South Korea, Choi Sang-mok, promises continued cooperation and affirms “that the diplomacy of [m]our country remains unshakeable despite an unprecedented political crisis in the country.”
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