By Eduardo Baptista, Hyunsu Yim and Joyce Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) – Authorities attempted to carry out an unprecedented arrest warrant against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, evading a crowd of protesters who clashed with police outside his residence and vowed to block any attempt. .
Yoon is under criminal investigation for insurrection for his Dec. 3 martial law attempt that stunned South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and one of the region’s most vibrant democracies.
An arrest would be the first of a sitting South Korean president.
Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO), which leads a joint team of investigators including police and prosecutors, arrived at the gates of Yoon’s compound shortly after 7 a.m. (2200 GMT Thursday), according to Reuters witnesses. .
Media reports said CIO vehicles did not immediately enter the complex, partly because a bus was blocking the entrance road, but live footage later appeared to show some CIO officials parading on foot through a open door.
It was unclear whether the Presidential Security Service, which blocked investigators’ access with a search warrant to Yoon’s official office and residence, would try to stop the arrest.
Protesters gathered in the pre-dawn hours near the residence, and numbers swelled to the hundreds amid media reports that investigating authorities would soon attempt to carry out the arrest warrant that was approved Tuesday after Yoon was arrested. refused to appear.
“We have to block them with our lives,” one of them was heard saying to the others.
Some chanted “President Yoon Suk Yeol will be protected by the people” and called for the CIO chief to be arrested.
Pyeong In-su, 74, said police had to be stopped by “patriotic citizens,” a term Yoon used to describe those standing guard near his residence.
Holding a U.S. and South Korean flag with the words “Let’s go together” in English and Korean, Pyeong said he hoped incoming U.S. President Donald Trump would come to Yoon’s aid.
“I hope that after Trump’s inauguration he can use his influence to help our country get back on the right path,” he said.
The current arrest warrant is valid until January 6 and gives investigators only 48 hours to detain Yoon after his arrest. Investigators must then decide whether to request an arrest warrant or release him.
Once arrested, Yoon is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center, Yonhap News Agency said, citing the CIO.
SURPRISE MARTIAL LAW
Yoon sent shock waves across the country with a late-night announcement on December 3 that he was imposing martial law to overcome political deadlock and eradicate “anti-state forces.”
However, within hours, 190 lawmakers defied cordons of troops and police to vote against Yoon’s order. About six hours after his initial decree, Yoon rescinded it.
He later issued a defiant defense of his decision, saying that domestic political opponents are sympathetic to North Korea and citing uncorroborated accusations of election rigging.
Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned as Yoon’s defense minister after playing a leading role in the martial law decree, was detained and charged last week with insurrection and abuse of power.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges against which a South Korean president has no immunity.
Yoon’s lawyers have said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid because the CIO did not have the authority under South Korean law to request a warrant.
Yoon has been isolated since he was charged and suspended from power on December 14.
Aside from the criminal investigation, his impeachment case is currently before the Constitutional Court to decide whether to reinstate or permanently remove him. A second hearing in that case is scheduled for later Friday.