South Korean authorities are seeking an arrest warrant for the impeached president in an investigation into the state of emergency
South Korean law enforcement officials have sought a court order to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol while they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3 constituted a rebellion.
The Office of Corruption Investigation for Senior Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted just a few hours, confirmed it had requested the warrant on Monday. Investigators plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of power and orchestrating a rebellion.
Yoon has evaded several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and has also blocked searches of his offices.
It is unclear whether the court will grant the warrant or whether Yoon can be compelled to appear for questioning.
Under the country’s laws, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person responsible, and Yoon is unlikely to voluntarily leave his residence if he faces detention.
Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14 over his imposition of a state of emergency that lasted only a few hours but sparked weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. Yoon’s fate now rests with the Constitutional Court. Consideration has begun on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.
Yoon defended the state of emergency decree as a necessary act of government, describing it as a warning against the liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has obstructed his program with its majority in parliament.
Parliament last week also voted to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who assumed the role of acting president after Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court ahead of a judicial review of Yoon’s case.
The new interim leader of the country is Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the Minister of Finance.
