The IOC, which is centralizing the investigation for “rebellion” against the leader, had announced early on to begin the “execution of the arrest warrant against President Yoon”. But according to Yonhap News Agency, they encountered resistance from Yoon Suk-yeol's bodyguards.
AFP journalists had previously seen one of the IOC prosecutors, Lee Dae-hwan, accompanied by several other people, cross the imposing security barrier set up in front of the presidential residence around 8 a.m. local time (midnight in Switzerland).
'Execution of arrest warrant illegal,' says Yoon's lawyer
According to Yonhap, the investigators were first “blocked by a military unit inside” but managed to cross the barrier, then “confronted the presidential security service”, which had already prevented several searches at Yoon Suk's home. -yeol in recent days, invoking a law on state secrets.
“The execution of the arrest warrant is illegal and invalid,” said the leader's lawyer, Yoon Kap-keun, announcing a new legal action to block this execution, in addition to those he has already filed for challenge the validity of the warrant itself.
IOC chief Oh Dong-woon warned that anyone who tried to prevent Yoon Suk-yeol's arrest could face prosecution themselves.
An arrest of Yoon Suk-yeol, who officially remains the head of state and is only suspended pending confirmation by the Constitutional Court of his dismissal by mid-June, would be unprecedented in the history of South Korea. The IOC has until January 6 to execute the arrest warrant issued by a Seoul court at its request.
Support gathered
Hundreds of die-hard Yoon Suk-yeol supporters, including well-known far-right YouTubers and evangelical Christian preachers, camped near the presidential residence overnight from Thursday to Friday, with some holding all-night prayer sessions. “Yoon Suk-yeol!” Yoon Suk-yeol!” they chant, waving red light sticks, watched by the police in large numbers.
“We are gathered here today, ready to risk our lives,” Lee Hye-sook, 57, told AFP, who accuses the opposition of “trying to transform our country into a socialist state similar to Korea of the North”.
According to Yonhap, some 2,700 police officers are deployed in the area, after clashes between supporters and detractors of the ousted president the previous evening.
Yoon's stubbornness denounced
Yoon Suk-yeol stunned South Korea on the night of December 3 to 4 by imposing martial law and sending the army to parliament to try to muzzle him, an episode that reminded the country of the dark hours of the dictatorship military. He was forced to backtrack a few hours later, when MPs managed to enter parliament and pass a motion demanding the lifting of martial law while their aides blocked the chamber doors with furniture and thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators gathered outside.
The 64-year-old former star prosecutor has shown no contrition since his dismissal by parliament on December 14, even vowing in a letter to his supporters to “fight until the end”. “The Republic of Korea is currently in danger due to internal and external forces threatening its sovereignty, and the activities of anti-state elements,” he wrote.
The Democratic Party, the main opposition force, described these comments as “delusional”. “It's been a month since the country became a complete wreck due to the illegal declaration of martial law on December 3, but Yoon Suk-yeol's message to his supporters shows that he does not have the slightest sense of remorse or responsibility,” said Friday in an editorial in the major right-wing daily Dong-A Ilbo. “President Yoon's behavior, relying on his most extremist supporters, is beyond embarrassing. It is reaching deplorable levels.”
