A court in South Korea has approved an arrest warrant for the country’s suspended President, Yoon Suk Yeol.
Yoon’s decision to declare martial law late on December 3, 2024, plunged Asia’s fourth-biggest economy into its worst political crisis for decades and caused concern in Washington.
Yoon was forced to lift the order just six hours later after MPs forced their way into parliament to vote it down.
Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the national assembly voted to impeach him on December 14, 2024, over his imposition of martial law.
The Joint Investigation Headquarters said in a statement, “The arrest warrant and search warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol … were issued this morning.”
Yoon has so far refused to cooperate with the investigation into his martial law order.
He has failed to report to investigators for questioning over allegations of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion, and his presidential security service has prevented court-ordered searches of his office and residence.
Yoon also faces charges of insurrection – a crime that can carry life imprisonment or the death penalty and one of the few charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity.
An official from the corruption investigation office said that Yoon’s refusal to be questioned had prompted the warrant request. “The reason for the warrant is that there is a concern that the individual may refuse to comply with summons without justifiable reasons, and there is sufficient probable cause to suspect the commission of a crime,” the official said.
The warrant is valid until January 6, 2025, he said, adding that Yoon could be held at a police station or the Seoul detention centre.
Media reports said that an imminent arrest or search of the presidential residence was unlikely, as investigators would seek to coordinate with the presidential security service.
Technically, anyone obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant could be arrested.
However, under South Korean law, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge, and it is unlikely that Yoon will voluntarily leave his residence if he faces arrest.
Yoon’s Lawyer Condemns Arrest Warrant
Yoon Kab-keun, a lawyer for Yoon, condemned the move. “The arrest warrant and search and seizure warrant issued at the request of an agency without investigative authority are illegal and invalid,” he said in a statement.
The acting leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power party, Kweon Seong-dong, stated that attempting to detain a sitting President was inappropriate.
Also, Park Sung-min, President of the Seoul-based political consulting firm MIN Consulting, said that the push for an arrest warrant was probably an attempt to pressure Yoon to cooperate with the investigation.
Police were deployed early on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, outside Yoon’s residence in central Seoul in an attempt to prevent unrest.
Meanwhile, Choi Jin, Director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership stated, “Unless Yoon voluntarily lets them detain him, there is no way to detain him.” He added, “Should investigators have hand-to-hand fights with the security service?”
Choi said that investigators were still likely to visit Yoon’s residence to show they were doing their work diligently and fairly.
The martial law order triggered weeks of political and market turmoil. Yoon’s replacement, Han Duck-soo, was also impeached last week for refusing to approve bills to facilitate the investigation into his predecessor.
Han’s successor as interim President, Choi Sang-mok, had been in office for just two days when he was confronted with the fatal plane crash at Muan international airport, the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.
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