South Korean President Yoon detained over martial law standoff: NPR

SEOUL, South Korea — Impeached South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has been arrested on suspicion of sedition, a month and a half after briefly imposing martial law.

He is the first sitting president of the country to be detained.

Mr. Yoon’s arrest ended weeks of concern by law enforcement authorities about possible clashes between the Presidential Guard and police following the issuance of Mr. Yoon’s warrant.

However, Mr. Yoon and his supporters in the ruling party remain defiant over the charges of rebellion, and the political turmoil caused by the declaration of martial law on December 3 is expected to continue.

Yun argued that martial law was necessary because the rebels’ “legislative dictatorship” had paralyzed national politics and disrupted social order.

In a video message released after his detention, the president called the search and warrant “unlawful” and said he agreed to cooperate with law enforcement only to prevent a violent confrontation.

The first attempt by the CIO and police to detain Yun on January 3 failed after a five-hour standoff with the president’s personal security personnel. CIO Prosecutor General Oh Dong-woong later told the National Assembly Judiciary Committee that the employees had not expected “organized resistance” from armed security personnel and had felt “mental and physical pressure.” Ta.

The CIO, which is leading a joint investigation into Mr. Yoon with the police and military, is stepping up preparations for the second investigation, mobilizing 3,000 riot police, 1,000 detectives, and corruption investigators in a pre-dawn operation. did. He also warned security forces that they too could be arrested for obstruction of justice and could lose their jobs and pensions if found guilty.

After dispersing dozens of ruling party members who had blocked the gates of the presidential palace, police and investigators used ladders to get over a bus that had been parked behind the gate as a barricade.

Some police officers attempted to enter through the mountain trail from behind the residence.

Unlike the first attempt, presidential security personnel did not appear to attempt to thwart law enforcement.

After more than two hours of negotiations inside the presidential palace between Yoon’s representatives and law enforcement, the president’s motorcade departed the residence.

Demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace

When the CIO confirmed that Yun had been detained, there were cheers among the demonstrators who had been calling for his arrest in the freezing cold.

“I haven’t lived long, but I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life,” says Choi Hae Soo, a 20-year-old college student from the southeastern city of Busan. Choi arrived in the area the day before and spent the night on the street.

When Yun declared martial law last month, Choi said he looked for protests to take place the next day, likening it to clashes between democracy activists and armed police in the 1980s. “I was worried that if Congress couldn’t stop the martial law forces, there would be a violent crackdown like the ones we saw in history books,” she says.

Young South Koreans born after the military dictatorship have been actively participating in recent protests calling for Yoon’s ouster. Many say they took South Korea’s stable democracy for granted before martial law was declared.

Min So-won, 24, who protested in front of the presidential palace on Wednesday, said, “Most people live in constant fear, wondering whether Yoon Seok-yeol has been arrested overnight or what has happened.” “I check every morning to see if there are any other situations occurring.”

In a recent Gallup poll, 75% of South Korean respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 said they supported impeaching Yoon. Parliament passed an impeachment motion on December 14, and the Constitutional Court began formal hearings this week to decide whether to formally remove him from office.

But older Koreans are more sympathetic to Yoon. In the same poll, 36% of people over 70 supported impeachment.

Chung Hyun-mok, a 76-year-old retired teacher, also participated in the anti-impeachment demonstration held in front of the presidential palace on Wednesday. She is concerned that if Yoon is impeached, the South Korean government will collapse.

Chung said, “The president is the pillar that supports our country and the vanguard of liberal democracy,” and called liberal opposition leaders “communists.”

Rep. Kim Ki-hyun of the ruling People’s Power Party also spoke to reporters in front of her official residence, repeating Yun’s claims about the illegality of the investigation and saying that the country’s liberal democracy and the rule of law are at risk. insisted.

However, the court rejected a challenge to the detention warrant by Yoon’s lawyers and supporters.

The CIO can detain and interrogate the president for 48 hours. After that, authorities plan to apply for an arrest warrant, which would give authorities and prosecutors up to 20 days to interrogate him.