On Saturday, South Korea’s political leadership was plunged into uncharted territory as the sitting president resisted arrest for failing to impose martial law, days before his warrant was set to expire.
In a scene of major drama on Friday, Yoon Seok-yeol’s presidential guard and the military protected the former star prosecutor from investigators, who called off the arrest citing safety concerns.
South Korea’s president was impeached and suspended last month after his failed attempt to declare martial law, but the political move was quickly overturned by Congress and another arrest warrant was later issued.
“There was a standoff. We estimated there were around 200 personnel who intercepted us, but there could have been many more,” a source from the investigation team said on condition of anonymity on Friday.
“It was a dangerous situation.”
Also read: ‘Stop the steal’: South Korea’s Yun supporters want President Trump to intervene
Mr. Yin faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of the few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, which could carry a prison sentence or even the death penalty.
If the warrant is executed, Yun will become the first sitting president to be arrested.
Since being impeached, Yoon has holed up in the presidential palace in the capital, Seoul, and has refused to appear in court for questioning three times.
Investigators’ attempts to arrest him remain stalled as a court-ordered warrant expires on Monday in the unprecedented confrontation, which reportedly involved clashes but no shots fired.
Officials at the Corruption Investigation Bureau (CIO), which is investigating Yun over martial law, said there may be another attempt to arrest him by then.
However, if the warrant lapses, a new warrant must be applied for in the same Seoul court that issued the original summons.
The Constitutional Court has scheduled the start of Yun’s impeachment trial on January 14, and if Yun is absent, the impeachment trial will continue.
Former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye did not appear at the impeachment trial.
Yun’s lawyer denounced Friday’s arrest attempt as “illegal and invalid” and vowed to take legal action.
Experts said investigators may wait for greater legal justification before arresting the suspended president again.
Choi Jin-won of Kyung Hee University’s Humanitas College told AFP: “It may be difficult to carry out the arrest until the Constitutional Court decides on impeachment and strips the president of his title.”
– “Stable path” –
South Korean media reported that CIO officials wanted to arrest Yoon and take him to an office in Gwacheon, near Seoul, for questioning.
He could then be detained for up to 48 hours on the existing warrant. Investigators would have had to apply for another arrest warrant to keep him in custody.
Yun has remained defiant despite the political impasse that began with the Dec. 3 executive order.
He told his right-wing supporters this week that he would fight “to the bitter end” for his political survival.
When law enforcement authorities attempted to execute the warrant for his arrest, Yun deployed hundreds of security forces to the presidential palace to prevent them from doing so.
The approximately 20 agents and 80 police officers vastly outnumbered the approximately 200 soldiers and security personnel who tied their weapons and blocked their way once they entered the presidential compound.
Also read: South Korea to send black box from Jeju Air crash to US
The tense six-hour standoff lasted until early Friday afternoon, forcing investigators to make a U-turn as they feared violence could erupt.
Weeks of political turmoil have threatened the country’s stability.
The United States, South Korea’s key security ally, called on political elites to work toward a “stable path” forward.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to maintaining the bilateral relationship and its readiness to respond to “any external provocation or threat.”
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to hold talks in Seoul on Monday, focusing on the political crisis on the one hand and nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea on the other.
