Yoon Suk-yeol was arrested this morning after an exceptional police operation. The deposed president had been holed up in his residence for two weeks. He will now have to answer questions from investigators after attempting a military coup last December.
A procession of black SUVs with smoked windows crosses the white gates of the presidential complex. On board, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, arrested after defying his country's authorities for nearly two weeks. In the crowd gathered for this historic moment – it is the first time that a sitting South Korean president has been arrested – some cry, while others exult with joy. The political crisis, which began more than a month ago with the attempt to impose martial law in South Korea, seems to be coming to an end in an incredible police operation.
Attacking “Yoon Fortress”
At five o'clock in the morning, while temperatures were around -7°C, the thousand investigators dispatched for this special operation advanced towards the gates of the presidential residence. This time, the prosecution pulled out all the stops after the humiliating failure of his first arrest attempt. The police are not alone: nearly 6,500 demonstrators, pro and anti-Yoon, are present. More than three thousand riot police were also mobilized to prevent any excesses on the sidelines of the operation.
ALSO READ Barbed wire, instant noodles and bodyguards: South Korea's deposed president barricades himselfVery quickly, the investigators hit a wall, literally and figuratively. A row of buses blocks the way to the residence, and a human chain formed by deputies from the presidential party blocks their way. “You have no right to do that, you are cowards!” » chants the president's lawyer to the police. After three quarters of an hour of negotiations, the police force the cordon and enter the compound of what everyone now calls “Yoon Fortress”: 15,000 square meters of land on the hillside, surrounding a transformed luxurious residence in a bunker thanks to barbed wire and barricades.
All in all
Using ladders, the police climbed the three successive bus roadblocks. The president's once-hostile security forces retreat as police advance, cutting through barbed wire. Shortly after eight a.m., investigators entered the residence. Cornered, Yoon Suk-yeol and his lawyers try everything for everything.
The president is considering a voluntary exit so as not to go down in history as the first president arrested in office. Far from the cameras of the many journalists present, hidden by a thick forest, Yoon Suk-yeol negotiates for more than an hour. On Hannam Boulevard, demonstrators are agitated in the face of an operation that drags on.
ALSO READ South Korea: Parliament impeaches President Yoon Suk-yeolDespite the president's proposals, the investigators remained firm in preserving their credibility and proceeded with his arrest. Only one favor is granted to him: an improvised speech in which he denounces his arrest as illegal. “Unfortunately, the laws of this country seem to have collapsed. Even though I am suffering injustices and this investigation is illegal, I have decided to turn myself in to the authorities to avoid a tragic and bloody outcome. »
At ten thirty, under police escort, he was taken to the headquarters of the CIO, the body responsible for investigating senior officials. End of the run for Mr. Yoon.
Let the protestors rejoice
On the boulevard, anti-Yoon demonstrators exult at the sight of the convoy. At the side of the road, they shout “thank you” to the police officers who begin to pack up their equipment. “It’s unbelievable, they did it, they arrested Yoon Suk-yeol. I’m so happy,” Kim Hyeong-jin applauds.
On the pro-Yoon side, it's all grimace. Some try to lie down on the road to block the police escort, while others collapse in tears. Nam Jaehyun, on the verge of tears, came to support the fallen president. “We love Yoon Suk-yeol. I’m worried about him, he didn’t hurt anyone,” she sniffles. “He introduced martial law to protect us from the communists. »
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
In pre-trial detention, President Yoon will have to answer, within two days, some 200 pages of questions prepared by investigators. They will then decide whether he should be charged with abuse of power and insurrection.
Meanwhile, the president is also awaiting the verdict in his impeachment trial, which opened the day before his arrest. Voted by deputies on December 14, his dismissal must be confirmed by the Constitutional Court within the next four months.
