a few hours before its expiration, possible extension of the arrest warrant against ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol

For several days, South Korea has been hanging on the hypothetical arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol. And it should last. A few hours before the expiration of the arrest warrant against the head of state, removed from office after attempting to impose martial law in the country, the Office of Investigation into Corruption of High Personalities (CIO ) announced on Monday, January 6, that he was going to request an extension, as he had not been able to apprehend Mr. Yoon in time.

The arrest warrant issued on December 31 by a Seoul court expires Monday evening at midnight (4 p.m. in Paris). “We intend to request an extension today, which requires indicating the reasons for exceeding the standard seven-day deadline”declared to the press, the deputy director of the IOC, Lee Jae-seung.

On Friday, IOC investigators and special police forces entered the president's residence to arrest him. But they came up against an army unit and agents of the Presidential Security Service (PSS) twice as many, and retreated empty-handed after nearly six hours of face-to-face confrontation. tense. The PSS chief warned that he would not allow any further attempts to arrest Mr. Yoon.

Mr Lee said the IOC sent a letter to interim President Choi Sang-mok on Saturday “to demand cooperation from the Presidential Security Service regarding the mandate”. “But we have not received a response”he lamented.

Rallies around the president's residence

Former star prosecutor elected in 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol, was dismissed by the National Assembly on December 14. He is the target of an investigation for “rebellion”, a crime punishable by death, for having introduced martial law by surprise on December 3 and sending the army to Parliament to muzzle him, before backtracking shortly after, under pressure from deputies and thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators.

On Monday, like every day since December 31, hundreds of supporters of the deposed president stood near his home, ready to fight in the event of another arrest attempt. They are watched by numerous police officers, journalists from Agence France-Presse saw them on site.

“The Presidential Security Service will protect the president and we will protect the Presidential Security Service until midnight. If they get a new arrest warrant, we will come back”says one of the organizers of the rally, Kim Soo-yong, 62 years old.

Around thirty deputies from the People's Power Party (PPP), Mr. Yoon's right-wing party, arrived at dawn at the presidential residence, near which detractors of the ousted president were also demonstrating. “The IOC is one of the most incompetent agencies I have ever seen. I have been here longer than the IOC. It doesn't make sense that they can't do it. They must stop him immediately”gets angry one of these demonstrators, thirty-year-old Kim Ah-young

This psychodrama takes place at a time when the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is in Seoul, the first stop on a farewell tour which will also take him to Japan and France. His schedule does not include any meetings with Yoon, but he will speak with Acting President and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.

Three subpoenas ignored

If investigators request an extension of the arrest warrant, it will likely be granted for the same reasons as the first time, namely that the president has ignored summons to appear for questioning before the IOC three times. Mr. Yoon's lawyers maintain that the arrest warrant is “invalid and illegal”. Their appeal against the mandate was rejected by a Seoul court, but they indicated their intention to appeal.

The head of the presidential security service, Park Jong-jun, invoked this argument on Sunday to justify his refusal to allow Mr. Yoon to be arrested. “The execution of an arrest warrant whose procedural and legal regularity is the subject of disputes compromises the fundamental mission of the PSS, which is to ensure the absolute security of the president. Responding to such a situation would amount to abandoning our duty”he wrote in a statement, while Mr. Yoon's detractors accuse his service of having become a “private militia” of the president. On Sunday, Yoon Kab-keun, one of his lawyers, announced the filing of a complaint against the head of the IOC.

South Korea's Constitutional Court, which has until mid-June to confirm or overturn Mr. Yoon's impeachment, announced that hearings would begin on January 14. In the meantime, Mr. Yoon, suspended, officially remains the country's president.