South Korean investigators head to Seoul to try to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s anti-corruption agency dispatched investigators Friday to execute an arrest warrant to detain ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol as hundreds of his supporters gathered at his residence in Seoul , promising to block their approach.

Investigators from the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau were seen loading boxes into several vehicles before leaving their building in Gwacheon City early in the morning. The office did not immediately confirm how many investigators had been sent.

A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon after he evaded several requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his Seoul office, hampering an investigation into whether his short-lived power grab December 3 amounted to a rebellion.

Thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon’s home. No clashes with demonstrators were immediately reported.

If Yoon is arrested, the anti-corruption agency will have 48 hours to investigate him and either seek a formal arrest warrant for him or release him. Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested for their roles in enacting martial law.

It was unclear whether the president would cooperate with authorities trying to arrest him. Yoon, in a defiant New Year’s message to conservative supporters gathered outside, said he would “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces.”

Yoon’s lawyers argued the court’s arrest warrant was invalid, saying the anti-graft agency lacked legal authority to investigate the rebellion charges. They also accuse the court of circumventing a law that states that places potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person responsible.

Oh Dong-woon, the anti-graft agency’s chief prosecutor, said police forces could be deployed if Yoon’s security resists the arrest attempt.

But Yoon’s legal team issued a statement on Thursday warning that any attempt by the anti-graft agency to use police units for his detention would exceed their legal authority. The lawyers said the officers could be arrested either by the “presidential security services or by any citizen” if they tried to arrest Yoon. They did not provide further details on this claim.

South Korean law allows anyone to make an arrest to stop an active crime, and critics have accused Yoon of inciting his supporters to obstruct attempts to arrest him.

Yoon Kap-keun, the president’s lawyer, filed an appeal with the Seoul Western District Court on Thursday to block both the detention warrant for Yoon Suk Yeol and a related search warrant for his residence. The lawyer argued that both warrants violated criminal laws and the constitution.

The liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led the legislative vote that indicted Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 14 for imposing martial law, accused the president of trying to mobilize his supporters to block his detention and said called on law enforcement authorities to execute the arrest warrant. immediately.

Braving freezing temperatures, thousands of Yoon’s supporters gathered for hours Thursday near his residence amid a heavy police presence, waving South Korean and U.S. flags while chanting, “Cancel the impeachment!” and “We will protect President Yoon Suk Yeol!” Police removed some protesters who had been lying on a road leading to the entrance to Yoon’s residence, but there were no immediate reports of any major clashes.

Some experts say the anti-corruption agency, which is conducting a joint investigation with police and military authorities, would not risk coming into conflict with Yoon’s security services, which have said they will ensure Yoon’s safety in accordance with the law. The office may instead issue another summons for Yoon to appear for questioning if he is unable to execute the detention warrant by January 6.

Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended following a National Assembly vote to impeach him on December 14 following the imposition of martial law, which lasted only hours but triggered weeks of political unrest, halted high-level diplomacy and shook financial markets. Yoon’s fate now rests in the hands of the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the indictment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.

To officially end Yoon’s presidency, at least six judges of the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor.

The National Assembly also voted last week to remove Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became interim president after Yoon’s suspension of power, over his reluctance to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court before the review of Yoon’s case by the Court.

Facing growing pressure, the new interim president, Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, appointed two new judges on Tuesday, which could increase the court’s chances of upholding Yoon’s impeachment.

Cho Han-chang, one of the newly appointed judges, said Thursday that he began his work with “a heavy heart.” Jeong Gye-seon, the other new judge, expressed hope that the remaining vacancy would be filled.

Yoon’s imposition of martial law ended after just six hours when the National Assembly voted 190-0 to lift it, despite attempts by heavily armed soldiers to prevent them from voting.

Yoon defended his martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, describing it as a temporary warning against the Democratic Party, which he described as an “anti-state” force obstructing his agenda with its legislative majority.