Protesters gather at the official residence of the impeached South Korean president as the expiration date of the arrest warrant approaches

Seoul — Thousands of South Koreans gathered near the impeached president’s mansion on Sunday, the day before the arrest warrant for the impeached president, Yun Seok-yew, was set to expire.

Protesters from both sides – one claiming the warrants are invalid or illegal, the other crying for arrest – marched down a wide four-lane road in the usually quiet neighborhood in subzero temperatures and snow. occupied and cut off all traffic.

ABC News confirmed that efforts to detain Yun were made after a South Korean court issued an arrest and search warrant on December 31 over his brief imposition of martial law. Yun has been suspended since December 14th.

According to Yonhap News, the warrant is valid until January 6, and law enforcement authorities wishing to execute it have until Monday to attempt to detain the president again.

Yun declared martial law in a televised speech on December 3. The president said the move was necessary because of the actions of the country’s liberal opposition Democratic Party, which controls Congress, sympathizes with North Korea and paralyzes the government.

Hostility between the two sides has reached a high level after more than 100 CIO Anti-Corruption Unit investigators and police were withdrawn from the official residence following a tense standoff with presidential security officials.

Yun’s fervent supporters continue to camp on the streets, vowing to protect him from “pro-North Korean forces trying to usurp the presidency.” Anti-Yun demonstrators supporting the opposition parties say that Yun should be imprisoned for rioting.

arrest warrant will be questioned

Many legal experts have questioned the validity of the warrant, which specifies the exclusion of certain key provisions of the Korean Criminal Procedure Code, meaning police can search the presidential palace for military and government secrets. I am doing it.

The court order is widely seen as the first and most unusual in history, and some critics say it falls outside the scope of judicial authority and violates the principle of separation of powers.

While a typical search warrant includes clear parameters for where, when and what items are to be recovered, experts say it is unprecedented to completely exclude legal provisions.

Yun’s declaration of martial law sparked protests, and within hours, the National Assembly passed a resolution calling on the president to lift martial law. A majority of the assembly (all 190 of the 300 members present) voted in favor of lifting the ordinance, which is required to be lifted thereafter based on South Korea’s constitution.

Following the Diet vote, Yun withdrew the troops that had been sent to impose martial law and stated, “Martial law will be lifted as soon as a quorum of ministers is present.” The State Council then convened and voted to formally lift the ban.

The country’s Democratic Party called the declaration of martial law “fundamentally invalid” and called on Yun to resign. Without Yoon resigning, the opposition party worked to institute impeachment proceedings against the president.

Yun has been suspended from office since December 14, when the National Assembly voted 204-85 to impeach him.

Possible charges against Presidential Security Service

The Office of Presidential Security is in the spotlight as politicians and lawyers debate the validity of warrants in the High Court.

The CIO is leading a joint investigation with police and prosecutors, but said it would be “virtually impossible” to capture Yoon as long as he was protected by a security team.

The CIO and opposition parties are seeking charges against the head of the presidential security team for obstruction of justice after police were prevented from entering the official residence on Friday.

Security teams formed barricades with about 10 buses and vehicles, and at one point formed a personnel chain of about 200 police officers to block access, the CIO said.

Opposition parties accused the president’s security team of overreach and summoned the chief and deputy chief. The Presidential Security Agency did not comply with the order, saying it was not the time to leave office.

“Some media and political circles say that the Presidential Security Office is (President Yoon’s) personal army,” Park Chung-joon, head of the presidential security office, said in a video press release. “As a presidential security guard, I can’t help but feel horrified and sad.”

He added that fake news reports claiming he ordered live fire were “absurd claims” and that there were no acts of violence on Saturday, which should not be forcibly linked to political ideology. .

ABC News’ Somaye Malekian contributed to this report.