South Korea’s impeached president defies arrest warrant after standoff – The National
South Korea Investigators left the official residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, but he resisted their demands. trying to hold it back. It is the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in less than a month.
The country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau said the presidential security service recalled the investigators after denying them access to Yoon’s residence for hours due to concerns about their safety.
The agency said that its large number of investigators had several disputes with the president’s security forces and “seriously regretted the attitude of the suspect who did not follow the legal process.”
He said it would be “virtually impossible” to detain Yoon as long as he was protected by the president’s security. The agency plans to “strongly request” the country’s acting head of state, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to instruct the service to comply with the execution of their detention warrant.
Outside the residence, a large group of Yoon supporters braved freezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags and chanting slogans vowing to protect her.
The National Police Agency said it plans to investigate the president’s security chief and deputies on suspicion of obstruction of duty and called for questioning on Saturday.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, resisted investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. The last time he was known to leave the residence, he went to the presidential office nearby to give a televised address to the nation on December 12, saying he would fight efforts to oust him.
Investigators from the country’s Anti-Corruption Agency have charged Yoo with rebellion after he became frustrated that his policies were blocked by the opposition-dominated parliament, declaring martial law on December 3 and deploying troops around the National Assembly.
Parliament overturned the declaration in a unanimous vote within hours and impeached Yoon on December 14, charging him with rebellion, while South Korea’s anti-corruption authorities and state prosecutors opened separate investigations into the incidents.
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On Tuesday, a Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon and a separate warrant to search his residence, but their execution has been difficult as he remains at his official residence.
Yoon’s lawyers, who challenged the warrant on Thursday, said it could not be executed at his residence because of a law that protects locations that may be related to military secrets from being searched without the consent of the person in charge.
The office said it would discuss future actions, but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to retain Yoon. The warrant for his arrest is valid for one week.
Yoon’s lawyers also argued that the Office of Corruption Investigation for Senior Officials, which is leading the investigation along with police and military investigators, does not have the authority to investigate the rebellion charges. They said police officers did not have the legal authority to help detain Yoon, or that he could be arrested by “the president’s security service or any citizen.” They did not provide details about the lawsuit.
If investigators succeed in detaining Yoo, they will likely seek a court order to formally arrest him. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.
During a background briefing with reporters, an anti-corruption agency official said its investigators were able to get within 200 meters (yards) of Yoon’s residence, but were blocked by a barricade of about 10 vehicles and about 200 members of the presidential security force. and troops. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of department rules, said the three prosecutors were allowed to approach the building but could not confirm whether Yoon was inside.
Lawyer Park Seong-bae, who specializes in criminal law, said that while the presidential security act requires Yoon’s protection, it does not authorize the presidential security service to prevent court-ordered arrests, which is a violation of judicial authority. While the president is mostly immune from prosecution while in office, the immunity does not extend to charges of sedition or treason.
“The act of obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant is highly likely to obstruct the performance of an official duty,” he said.
The law, which requires an official’s consent to search locations with potential military secrets, could continue to block Yoon’s detention. Courts often require law enforcement officers to obtain arrest warrants if they need to search a site to find a suspect, which is what the anti-corruption agency did in prosecuting Yoon.
According to Park, the confirmation is unlikely to come from the country’s interim leader, Choi, as it would be difficult to see him as the person in charge of Yoon’s residence.
Park Chan-dae, chairman of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, called the anti-corruption agency’s withdrawal regrettable and urged the agency to make another attempt to arrest Yoon on Friday.
Kwon Young-se, who heads the emergency leadership committee of Yoon’s conservative People’s Power Party, called the agency’s efforts to arrest Yoon “extremely unfair and grossly improper,” saying there was no risk that Yoon would try to flee or destroy evidence.
On Friday, thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon’s residence and formed a perimeter around a group of Yoon supporters who braved the cold for hours, waved South Korean and American flags, and chanted slogans vowing to protect him. There were no immediate reports of major collisions outside the residence.
Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several senior military commanders have already been arrested for their roles during martial law.
Yoon’s presidency was suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14. Yoon’s fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. At least six judges of the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor of his removal.
The National Assembly last week voted to impeach Yoon’s acting president, Han Duk-sun, after he refused to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court before the court hears Yoon’s case.
Facing mounting pressure, new acting president Choi appointed two new judges on Tuesday, which could increase the court’s chances of upholding Yoo’s impeachment.
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