South Korea’s impeached president is detained in a first for the country – National
of South Korea impeached president Yoon Suk YeolThe president was detained in a major law enforcement operation at his residence on Wednesday, insisting the anti-corruption agency did not have the authority to investigate his actions but said he was acting to prevent violence.
Yoon, the country’s first president to be jailed, now faces a lengthy prison term on potential sedition charges.
In a video message recorded shortly before he was taken to the headquarters of the anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented the “total collapse of the rule of law in this country.”
Yoon had been holed up in his Hannam-dong residence in the capital Seoul for weeks, vowing to “fight to the end” to oust him. He justified his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law as an act of legitimate governance against the “anti-state” opposition, which used its legislative majority to thwart its agenda.
Yoon was taken into custody about five hours after investigators arrived at the presidential residence and about three hours after they successfully entered the residence when they attempted to detain him a second time under martial law, the Anti-Corruption Bureau for Senior Officials said.
A number of black SUVs, some equipped with sirens, left the presidential building under a police escort. Yoon was later seen getting out of the car after arriving at the agency’s office in the nearby city of Gwacheon.
Hundreds of Yoon’s conservative supporters gathered near the anti-corruption agency’s office during the questioning, chanting and holding signs reading “We will fight together with President Yoon Suk Yeol.”
Also on Wednesday, an unidentified man was in critical condition after setting himself on fire near the area, according to the Gyeonggi Province fire department. After the interrogation, Yoon was expected to be sent to a detention center in Uiwang, near Seoul.
Yoon could be detained for weeks, possibly months or longer.
The anti-corruption agency, which is leading a joint investigation with the police and military into whether Yoon’s declaration of martial law was an attempted coup, has 48 hours to request a court order for his formal arrest.
If he fails, Yoon will be released. If Yoon is formally arrested, investigators could extend his detention for up to 20 days before handing the case over to state prosecutors to prepare an indictment.
If prosecutors charge Yoon with sedition and abuse of power charges, which are being investigated by investigators, he could remain in jail pending a preliminary ruling, which is usually within six months, said Park Sung-bae, a specialist lawyer. criminal law.
Under South Korean law, the leader of the rebellion could face the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted.
“If the trial court imposes a prison sentence, the prison will simply continue,” Park said. “For example, if they sentence him to life in prison, he will continue to serve that sentence directly.”
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Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several senior military commanders have already been arrested for their roles in imposing martial law.
The arrest warrant for Yoon issued by Seoul’s Western District Court said there were reasonable grounds to suspect that he had committed crimes as a “rebellion leader.”
The anti-corruption agency told reporters that Yoon exercised his right to remain silent during several hours of questioning until Tuesday.
Yoon’s presidency was suspended when the parliament impeached him on December 14. The impeachment case is now under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court, which can formally remove Yoon from office or dismiss the case and reinstate him.
In a separate message on his Facebook account after his arrest, Yoon said “martial law is not a crime” and said his declaration was necessary to raise awareness of the opposition, which exercises “legislative dictatorship by blocking laws and budgets.” which “paralyzes” government affairs. He rejected the accusations of rebellion and called his impeachment a “fraud”.
The scene in the complex
Anti-corruption investigators and police officers engaged in an hours-long standoff with the president’s security forces at the compound’s gate as the arrest operation began in the early hours of the morning, but otherwise encountered no meaningful resistance.
Police officers were seen using wire cutters to remove barbed wire placed around the perimeter of the building by the president’s bodyguards to block their entry. Some police officers used ladders to climb over the buses blocking the entrance to the building, and then investigators began moving up the hilly terrain. Later, investigators and police arrived at a metal gate with a gold presidential badge near Yoon’s apartment building. Some officers were seen entering a security door on the side of the metal gate, along with one of Yoon’s lawyers and his chief of staff, before Yoon was kicked out.
Preparations and concerns
South Korea’s acting leader, Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, issued a statement early Wednesday calling on law enforcement agencies and the president’s security service to ensure there are no “physical clashes.”
After Yoon’s detention, Choi met with diplomats from the Group of Seven countries, including the United States, Japan, Britain and Germany, as well as a representative of the European Union, to reassure them that the government was operating stably.
Park Chang-dae, chairman of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has led a legislative campaign to impeach Yoon, said Yoon’s arrest is “the first step toward restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law.”
Lawmakers from Yoon’s People’s Power Party condemned the arrest as illegal.
The National Police Agency has met with field commanders in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province in recent days to plan efforts to contain Yoon, fueling speculation that the force could deploy more than 1,000 officers. The agency and the police had publicly warned that presidential guards who obstructed the execution of the warrant could be arrested.
Yoon’s lawyers said the arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Western District Court was invalid. They cited a law that protects locations that may be related to military secrets from being searched without the consent of a person in charge — that would be Yoon. They also said the Anti-Corruption Agency had no legal authority to investigate allegations of sedition.
“It really appalls me to see illegality upon illegality of procedures being enforced under an invalid warrant,” Yoon said in the video.
“I do not accept the investigation of high-ranking officials by the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department. As the president responsible for protecting the constitution and legal system of the Republic of Korea, my decision to follow such illegal and invalid procedures is not an acknowledgment of them, but rather a desire to prevent unpleasant and bloody events.”
Yoon’s supporters and critics staged competing protests near the residence — one side vowing to protect him and the other calling for his arrest — as thousands of yellow-jacketed police kept a close watch on the tense situation.
Some Yoon supporters reacted with fear as they watched the procession move toward Gwacheon. Several people were removed by police officers after lying on the road as a sign of protest.
Yoon declared martial law on December 3 and deployed troops around the National Assembly. It lasted only a few hours before lawmakers broke the deadlock and voted to repeal the measure. The opposition-led assembly voted to impeach him on charges of rebellion on December 14.
The Constitutional Court held its first formal hearing on the impeachment case on Tuesday, but the hearing lasted less than five minutes as Yoon refused to attend. The next court date is scheduled for Thursday.
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