Protesters held a rally Sunday near the presidential palace in Seoul, South Korea, demanding the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yun Seok-yew. The letter read, “Arrest Yoon Seok-yeol.” Ahn Young-joon/AP Hide caption
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
SEOUL, South Korea – Hundreds of South Koreans braved subzero temperatures and snow to rally Sunday near the residence of impeached President Yun Seok-Yeol as authorities prepare to renew efforts to detain the president. They rallied throughout the night to demand the president’s ouster and arrest. his short-lived martial law;
Dozens of Anti-Corruption Bureau agents and police attempted to execute an arrest warrant against Yoon on Friday, but after a tense standoff with presidential security officials that lasted more than five hours, they were arrested from Yoon’s residence in Seoul. Withdrew.
His one-week detention warrant remains in effect until Monday. As of Sunday afternoon, there was no immediate indication that anti-corruption authorities were ready to send investigators back to the residence. Over the weekend, staff from the Presidential Security Office were seen setting up barbed wire near the gate and along the hill leading to Mr Yoon’s residence, presumably in preparation for an attempt to re-detain him. .
Last Tuesday, a Seoul court issued a warrant to arrest the embattled President Yoon, as he repeatedly defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning and obstructing searches of his office. A search warrant was issued for the residence. However, as long as Yun remains in the Prime Minister’s office, enforcement will become complicated.
The conservative president, clearly frustrated that his policies were blocked by the liberal opposition-dominated Congress, declared martial law on December 3 and sent troops to besiege Congress. In response, investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency are considering sedition charges.
Within hours, Congress unanimously voted to overturn the declaration and impeached Yoon for treason on December 14, while South Korea’s anti-corruption authorities and prosecutors launched separate investigations into the incident.
If the Anti-Corruption Bureau succeeds in detaining Yoon, it is likely to request permission from the court for formal arrest. Otherwise, Mr. Yoon will be released after 48 hours.
The High-ranking Corruption Investigation Office, which is leading a joint investigation between police and military investigators, says that as long as Yoon is protected by the Presidential Security Bureau, it will be “virtually impossible” to capture him. The agency has asked the country’s acting leader, Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to instruct the military to comply with the execution of the arrest warrant, but Choi has not yet made any public comment on the matter.
On Saturday, the head and deputy head of the Presidential Security Service did not respond to a summons from police, who had scheduled them for questioning on suspicion of obstruction of official duties following Friday’s events.
Yoon’s legal team announced that they will file illegal charges against Chief Prosecutor Oh Dong-woong of the Anti-Corruption Agency, investigators, and about 150 police officers involved in Friday’s attempted arrest. The team also said it plans to file a complaint with the prosecutor’s office against the acting defense minister and the police chief for ignoring requests by the Presidential Security Service to provide additional forces to thwart the detention attempt.
Yoon’s lawyer had filed a challenge to the warrant against the president on Thursday, but the Seoul Western District Court rejected the challenge on Sunday.
Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said it was extremely unfortunate that the anti-corruption agency was “hesitating and losing track of time,” and called for swift action to arrest Yoon. called for action.
Hundreds of anti-Yin demonstrators rallied for several hours near the gates of the presidential palace between Saturday evening and Sunday to express their dissatisfaction with the failure to detain him and call for stronger efforts to detain him. demanded. Separated by police barricades and buses, pro-Yin demonstrators gathered on a nearby street, denouncing his impeachment and vowing to thwart any efforts to detain him.
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol gathered near the presidential palace in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday to protest his impeachment and attend Sunday church services. Ahn Young-joon/AP Hide caption
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Ahn Young-joon/AP
Activist Kim Eun-jung said, “With only one day left until the deadline to execute Yoon Seok-yeol’s arrest warrant, the Presidential Security Bureau continues to cover up criminals, and the High-ranking Corruption Investigation Office can no longer relax its guard. ” he said. He spoke on stage at an anti-Yun rally.
“Angry citizens have already spent two freezing nights demanding his immediate detention. Will their voices not be heard?”
Mr. Yoon’s lawyers are challenging the detention and search warrants against the president, saying there is a law that protects locations that may be related to military secrets from being searched without the consent of the person in charge, which would be Mr. Yoon. Therefore, they argued that those warrants could not be executed at the presidential residence. It also argues that the anti-corruption bureau has no legal authority to investigate the rebellion charges and that police officers have no legal authority to assist in detaining Yun.
The Presidential Security Act requires Yoon to be protected, but it does not give the Presidential Security Agency the power to block a court-ordered detention. Park Sung-bae, a lawyer specializing in criminal law, said the department’s attempt to block the execution of the warrant could amount to obstruction of public business. Presidents enjoy immunity from prosecution in most cases while in office, but that protection does not extend to charges of sedition or treason.
The agency said its outnumbered investigators had several scuffles with presidential security forces, endangering their safety, and expressed “serious regret” over Yoon’s failure to comply with legal procedures. expressed.
The agency’s investigators and police were able to get within 200 meters of Mr. Yoon’s residential building after evading military forces guarding the compound, but about 10 vehicles and about 200 presidents were present. They were blocked by barricades made up of security forces and members. military. The agency said it could not visually confirm whether Yoon was inside the residence.
The Ministry of Defense says that the forces in Prime Minister Yoon’s official residence are under the command of the Presidential Security Bureau. Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho conveyed his concerns to the Presidential Security Office, saying it was “inappropriate” to send military personnel to prevent the execution of a detention warrant and urged them not to put troops in a dangerous situation. did. They may face confrontation with police, the ministry said.
Yun’s defense minister, police chief, and several top military officials have already been arrested for their roles during martial law.
Since the National Assembly voted to impeach Yun on December 14, his presidential powers have been suspended. Yun’s fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has upheld the impeachment and has begun deliberations on whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him.
