The court in South Korea has issued an arrest warrant against suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol for his attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
The order comes after Yoon, who is being investigated for abuse of power and inciting sedition, ignored three calls for questioning in the past two weeks.
Yoon’s legal team called the order “illegal and invalid” and said they would challenge it in court.
South Korea has been in political crisis since a short-lived state of emergency was declared, and the opposition-dominated parliament impeached Yoon and his successor.
Yoon is the first sitting president of South Korea to face arrest.
Investigators have until Jan. 6 to execute the warrant, which was approved by a court in the capital Seoul, and may request an extension.
It is unclear, however, whether investigators will be able to execute the warrant because they could be thwarted by his security team and protesters.
The Presidential Security Service previously prevented investigators from entering the grounds of the presidential office and Yoon’s private residence to conduct court-authorized searches.
In the past, South Korean authorities have abandoned attempts to arrest prominent politicians after their aides and supporters physically blocked police.
On Monday, Yoon’s legal team said investigators do not have the authority to arrest him because declaring a state of emergency is within the president’s constitutional powers.
Yoon previously defended his decision to declare a state of emergency and promised to “fight to the end” – although he also said that he will not avoid his legal and political responsibility.
His lawyer, Yun Gap-geun, said Yoon’s failure to comply with the previous three calls was due to “legitimate concern.”
Yoon’s whereabouts are not publicly known, but he is banned from leaving the country.
Although he has been suspended from presidential duties since December 14 after lawmakers voted to impeach him, he can only be removed from office if his impeachment is upheld by the country’s constitutional court.
There are currently only six judges in the nine-member constitutional court bench. This means that only one rejection would save Yoon from being removed.
Opposition lawmakers had hoped the appointment of three additional judges would improve the chances of impeaching Yoon, but Prime Minister Han Duck-soo vetoed their proposal last week.
The opposition has since voted to impeach Han, who stepped in as acting chief after Yoon was suspended.
Now they are threatening to do the same to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who currently serves as president and prime minister.
Choi appointed two new judges on Tuesday, but said a third would require consensus between the opposition and ruling parties.
Additional reporting by Kelly Ng
