South Korean law enforcement officials on Wednesday detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for his brief imposition state of emergency last month.
In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of the anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented that “the rule of law has completely collapsed in this country,” but said he was complying with the detention order to prevent clashes between the forces of officials and the presidential security service.
A number of black SUVs, some equipped with sirens, were seen leaving the presidential compound with a police escort. The vehicle apparently carrying Yoon later arrived at the High Official Corruption Investigation Bureau in the nearby city of Gwacheon.
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Yoon was taken into custody about three hours after hundreds of police entered the apartment complex in their second attempt to detain him for his imposition of martial law last month.
Yoon’s lawyers tried to persuade investigators not to execute the detention order, saying the president would voluntarily appear for questioning, but the agency refused.
The officers did not appear to encounter significant resistance from presidential security forces as they approached Yoon’s residence, and there were no immediate reports of clashes.
Yoon was locked up in the Hannam-dong residence in the capital Seoul for weeks as he vowed to “fight to the end” against attempts to oust him from power.
He justified his declaration of emergency on December 3 as a legitimate act of governance against an “anti-state” opposition that is using its legislative majority to thwart his plan.
The anti-corruption agency is conducting a joint investigation with the police and military into whether Yoon’s declaration of a state of emergency constituted an attempted rebellion and sought to detain him after he ignored several calls for questioning. They promised stronger measures to detain him after the presidential security service blocked their initial efforts on January 3.
After hours of standoff at the compound’s gate, anti-corruption investigators and police officers were seen climbing the hilly compound. Police officers were earlier seen using ladders to climb over rows of buses that the presidential security service had placed near the entrance to the compound.
Anti-corruption investigators and police later arrived at a metal door with a gold presidential insignia located near Yoon’s apartment building. Some police officers were seen entering the security gate on the side of the metal gate, joined by one of Yoon’s lawyers and his chief of staff. The Presidential Security Service later removed the bus and other vehicles parked tightly inside the gate as a barricade.
Despite a court order for Yoon’s detention, the presidential security service insisted on its duty to protect the impeached president and fortified the compound with barbed wire and lines of buses blocking roads.
Investigators are likely to ask the court for permission to make an official arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.
As tensions escalated, South Korea’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, issued a statement early Wednesday calling on police and the presidential security service to ensure “physical confrontations” did not occur.
The liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led the legislative campaign that led to Yoon’s impeachment on Dec. 14, issued a statement calling on the presidential security service to step down and cooperate with Yoon’s detention. Lawmakers from Yoon’s People Power Party held a rally near the presidential residence denouncing attempts to detain him as illegal.
The National Police Agency has called several meetings of field commanders in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province in recent days to plan their detention efforts, and the size of the force has fueled speculation that more than a thousand officers could be deployed in a possible multi-day operation. The agency and the police openly warned that the president’s bodyguards who obstruct the execution of the order could be arrested.
Yoon’s lawyers argued that the detention order issued by the Seoul Western District Court was invalid. They cited a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from searches without the consent of the person responsible — which would be Yoon. The court order for Yoon’s detention is valid until January 21.
Yoon’s supporters and critics held competing protests near the residence – one side vowing to protect him, the other calling for his jailing – as thousands of police in yellow vests kept a close eye on the tense situation.
On December 3, Yoon declared martial law and deployed troops around the National Assembly. It only took a few hours before lawmakers were able to break through the gridlock and vote to repeal the measure.
Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on December 14, accusing him of rebellion. His fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun debating whether to formally remove Yoon from office or drop the charges and reinstate him.
The Constitutional Court held its first formal hearing in the case on Tuesday, but the session lasted less than five minutes because Yoon refused to attend. The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday, and the court will then proceed with the trial regardless of whether Yoon is there.
