South Korean investigators gave up trying to detain the impeached president after hours of standoff

Seoul, South Korea — South Korean investigators have left the official residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after a nearly six-hour standoff during which he defied their attempt to detain him. It is the latest clash in a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics two heads of state were impeached in less than a month.

The country’s anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering Yoon’s residence for hours over concerns about their safety.

The agency said the outnumbered investigators had several clashes with the presidential security forces and expressed “serious regret for the attitude of the suspect, who did not comply with the legal process.”

The National Police Agency said it plans to investigate the chief and deputy chiefs of the presidential security service for suspected obstruction of official duties and has called them in for questioning on Saturday.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, has defied investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. He is known to have left the residence for the last time on December 12, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, making a defiant declaration that he would fight attempts to oust him from power.

Investigators from the state’s anti-corruption agency are weighing sedition charges after Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies have been blocked by the opposition-dominated parliament, declared a state of emergency on December 3 and sent troops to surround the National Assembly.

Parliament overturned the declaration within hours by unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on December 14, charging him with sedition, while South Korea’s anti-corruption authorities and public prosecutors opened separate investigations into the events.

A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday, but its enforcement is complicated as long as he remains at his official residence.

Yoon’s lawyers, who filed an objection to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be executed at his residence because of a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from being searched without the consent of the person responsible.

The bureau said it would discuss further actions, but did not immediately say whether it would try to arrest Yoon again. The order for his detention is valid for one week.

Yoon’s lawyers also argued that the Office of Corruption Investigation for Senior Officials, which is conducting a joint investigation with police and military investigators, does not have the authority to investigate the sedition allegations. They said the police officers had no legal authority to help detain Yoon and could face arrest by “the Presidential Security Service or any citizen.” They did not elaborate further on the claim.

If investigators are able to detain Yoon, they will likely ask the court for permission to formally arrest him. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.

Park Chan-dae, leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, called the anti-corruption agency’s withdrawal regrettable and urged the agency to try again on Friday to detain Yoon.

Kwon Young-se, who heads the emergency committee of Yoon’s conservative People’s Power Party, called the agency’s effort to arrest Yoon “highly unfair and grossly inappropriate,” saying there was no danger that Yoon would try to flee or destroy evidence.

Thousands of police converged on Yoon’s residence on Friday, forming a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters who braved freezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags and chanting slogans vowing to protect him. There were no immediate reports of major clashes outside the residence.

Dozens of investigators and police were seen entering the door of the Seoul residence to execute a warrant for Yoon’s arrest, but the dramatic scene quickly turned into a standoff. Two of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-keun and Kim Hong-il, were seen entering the door of the presidential residence around noon. It was not immediately clear what the lawyers discussed with the president.

Seok Dong-hyeon, another lawyer on Yoon’s legal team, said the agency’s efforts to detain Yoon were “reckless” and showed an “outrageous disregard for the law.”

South Korea’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that before arriving at the building, investigators and police passed a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds. The Presidential Security Service, which controls the residence itself, declined to comment. South Korean broadcaster YTN reported a scuffle as investigators and police clashed with presidential security forces.

As the standoff progressed, Democrats called on the country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to order the presidential security service to step down. Choi did not immediately comment on the situation.

“Do not drag the virtuous personnel of the presidential security service and other public officials into the depths of crime,” said Jo Seung-lae, a Democratic lawmaker. Choi must “remember that quickly resolving the rebellion and preventing further chaos is your responsibility,” Jo said.

Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested for their roles in the martial law period.

Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14. Yoon’s fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun debating whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. At least six judges from the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote for his removal from office.

The National Assembly last week voted to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court before a judicial review of Yoon’s case.

Facing mounting pressure, the new acting president, Choi, appointed two new judges on Tuesday, which could increase the chances of the court upholding Yoon’s impeachment.