South Korea’s political crisis took a dramatic turn on Friday when investigators were forced to abandon an attempt to arrest the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, after a tense standoff with his security forces.
Hours after they entered the presidential compound in Seoul, anti-corruption officials said they were halting their attempt to execute a warrant to detain Yoon over allegations that his martial law declaration in December amounted to an insurrection.
“Regarding the execution of the arrest warrant today, it was determined that the execution was effectively impossible due to the ongoing standoff,” the Corruption Investigation Office said in a statement. “Concern for the safety of personnel on-site led to the decision to halt the execution.”
The investigators’ office said it would discuss further action but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention will expire on Monday.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is set to arrive in South Korea the same day for talks between the two allies.
The confrontation unfolded on a freezing winter’s day in Seoul, as an estimated 1,200 Yoon supporters gathered outside his official residence while police and other officials inside attempted to execute an arrest warrant – the first for a sitting South Korean president.
Local media reports said anti-corruption officials – who are leading a joint team of police and prosecutors – entered the compound to find themselves blocked by troops under the control of the presidential security service.
The Yonhap news agency said the team comprised 30 people from the anti-corruption office and 120 police, 70 of whom were initially waiting outside the residence compound.
Having managed to find a way past the troops, officials were confronted by other security service staff, raising doubts over whether Yoon, who was impeached in mid-December over his short-lived declaration of martial law, would be arrested on Friday.
The warrant was issued on Tuesday after Yoon again ignored a court order to submit himself for questioning over the insurrection allegations.
Investigators released a statement saying they had “started executing” the arrest warrant, but Yoon’s lawyers later said they would take immediate legal action to block it, describing it as “illegal and invalid”.
The lawyers said the warrant could not be enforced at the presidential residence due to a law that prevents locations potentially linked to military secrets from being search without the consent of the person in charge – in this case Yoon.
Seok Dong-hyeon, one of the lawyers, said the anti-corruption agency’s efforts to detain Yoon were “reckless” and showed an “outrageous discard for the law”.
If he is eventually detained, Yoon, who was impeached by parliament last month, would become the first sitting president to be arrested. The anti-corruption agency would then have 48 hours to investigate him and either request a warrant for his formal arrest or release him. He would be held at the Seoul Detention Center, Yonhap added.
Yoon’s defence minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the martial law declaration.
While the country’s constitutional court decides whether to uphold the impeachment vote – a move that would trigger an election for a new president – Yoon appears ready to continue defying anti-corruption officials over his martial law edict.
He declared martial law on 3 December in an attempt to root out what he described as “anti-state, pro-North Korean” forces – a reference to opposition MPs in the national assembly. He did not provide any evidence for those claims, however.
He was forced to lift the order six hours later after lawmakers forced their way past troops into the parliament building to vote it down.
The criminal allegations against Yoon, an ultra conservative whose two and a half years in office have been marred by scandal and policy gridlock, are serious.
Insurrection is one of the few crimes from which South Korean presidents do not have immunity, and comes with penalties that can include life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
Fears that protesters would physically block the investigators were not realised, but the raid took place amid a huge security presence. The broadcaster YTN reported that 2,800 police had been mobilised in the area, along with 135 police buses that have been positioned to create a barrier.
Protesters have maintained a round-the-clock vigil outside the residence and the atmosphere was charged.
A makeshift stage hosted impassioned speeches, with one woman appearing to break down in tears when describing Yoon’s situation. Another declared: “Ladies and gentlemen, President Yoon is truly remarkable… I love President Yoon Suk Yeol”.
Supporters, mostly elderly though with some younger faces present, gathered around tables offering tea and instant noodles. Many in the crowd insisted Yoon’s martial law declaration had been constitutional and justified.
One pro-Yoon protestor was heard saying to fellow demonstrators that they had to block the investigators “with our lives”. Others chanted: “President Yoon Suk Yeol will be protected by the people,” and called for the head of the corruption office to be arrested.
Pyeong In-su, 74, said the police had to be stopped by “patriotic citizens” – a term Yoon has used to describe people standing guard near his residence.
Holding a US-South Korea flag with the words “Let’s go together” written on it in English and Korean, Pyeong said he hoped Donald Trump would come to Yoon’s aid after he becomes president later this month.
“I hope after Trump’s inauguration he can use his influence to help our country get back on the right track,” he said.
Yoon, who has been holed up inside his residence since his impeachment, had previously told supporters in a letter he would “fight until the end”.
“I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing,” he wrote late on Wednesday.
“I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you,” he said in the letter, a photo capture of which was sent to the media by Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon.
Even the country’s traditionally conservative media have taken an unusually harsh stance. The influential Chosun Ilbo’s editorial condemned Yoon’s behaviour as “deeply inappropriate for a president with a prosecutor background”.
Meanwhile, the Dong-A Ilbo delivered a scathing critique, describing the situation as “beyond embarrassing and reaching a deplorable level”, and criticised Yoon for continuing to rely on extreme supporters rather than taking responsibility for what it called “a month that has left the country in tatters” following his martial law declaration.
Yoon has refused to back down from his uncorroborated claims that some members of the national assembly were pro-North Koreans determined to bring down the South Korean state, describing his martial law declaration as a legitimate “act of governance”. He has also aired unsupported allegations of election tampering.
A second constitutional court hearing in the impeachment case, which is separate from the criminal investigation, was scheduled for later on Friday.
Source: theguardian.com
