A South Korean court has authorized President Yoon’s arrest in a state of emergency investigation
A court in South Korea on Tuesday authorized authorities to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol after he was impeached and suspended from power for imposing a state of emergency, the first time a sitting president of the country has faced arrest.
The Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) confirmed that the Seoul Western District Court granted the order requested by investigators probing Yoon’s short-lived martial law.
Yoon faces an investigation into allegations that he was a leader of the rebellion, one of the few criminal charges from which the South Korean president is not immune. Separately, his impeachment trial is being heard at the Constitutional Court.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who took over from Yoon as acting president, also impeached the opposition-dominated parliament.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who took over as acting president after Han’s impeachment, was dealing with Sunday’s crash of Jeju Air Flight 7C2216, which killed 179 people in the deadliest air crash on South Korean soil.
The current arrest warrant is in effect until Jan. 6, and once it is executed, Yoon is expected to be held at a detention center in Seoul, Yonhap news agency said, citing the CIO.
Yoon Kab-keun, a lawyer for the impeached president, said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid because the CIO did not have the authority to request a warrant under South Korean law.
He said the president’s legal team would apply for an injunction at the Constitutional Court to suspend the order.
Warrant granted for Yoon’s residence
The district court issued the warrant due to the likelihood that Yoon will not respond to the summons without reasonable cause, and there is substantial reason to suspect that Yoon has committed a crime, Yonhap said. The court declined to comment.
It was unclear when and how the warrant for Yoon’s arrest would be executed. South Korea’s Presidential Security Service said in a statement on Tuesday that it would handle the arrest warrant in accordance with the law.
The court also granted a search warrant for Yoon’s residence, the CIO said.
Previously, the police tried but failed to raid the presidential office as part of the investigation, as the presidential security service blocked access.
Yoon has repeatedly failed to respond to calls from investigators for questioning since the declaration of emergency on December 3. The announcement, an attempt to ban political activity and censor the media, was the first such order in South Korea since the 1980s.
A short-term state of war
That night, troops stormed the National Assembly building in Seoul, but retreated when parliamentary aides sprayed them with fire extinguishers. Lawmakers rejected the state of emergency decision as protesters clashed with police outside, and Yoon reversed the order within hours.
The blowback was swift. While Yoon survived the first impeachment attempt, members of his party later joined opposition parties to impeach him on December 14.
Han took over as acting president, but he too was impeached on Friday after he refused to approve Constitutional Court judges appointed by parliament.
The next hearing in Yoon’s case before the Constitutional Court is scheduled for Friday.
Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned as Yoon’s defense minister after playing an important role in the emergency decree, was detained and indicted on Friday on charges of sedition and abuse of power.
Acting leader of South Korea’s ruling People’s Power Party, Kweon Seong-dong, said on Tuesday that the attempt to detain the current president was inappropriate.
