Thousands protest in South Korea as Yoon resists second arrest attempt | Politics News

Thousands of South Koreans continued to gather in rival protests in Seoul as investigators prepare another attempt to arrest suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol over his short-lived martial law decree amid warnings of potential bloodshed.

Protesters both for and against Yoon gathered in sub-zero conditions along major roads in the center of the nation’s capital on Saturday, demanding his arrest or calling for his impeachment to be declared invalid.

Yoon resisted arrest last week in a standoff between his guards and investigators, after his unsuccessful grab on December 3rd plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.

On Friday, Park Chong-jun, Yoon’s security chief, resigned from his post after being investigated for blocking the wartime president’s arrest. Park warned that all further efforts to detain the former leader violence should be avoided.

He told reporters that the immediate attempt to arrest Yoon was wrong and that “there should be no physical confrontation or bloodshed under any circumstances.”

On Saturday, Park was questioned again for preventing Yoon’s arrest.

The country has been tense for weeks after Yoon ordered soldiers to storm parliament, where they tried unsuccessfully to prevent politicians from voting on martial law.

After a failed attempt to introduce martial law, Yoon was impeached by parliament, and he has been suspended pending the constitutional court’s final decision on his removal.

Meanwhile, prosecutors conducted a separate investigation and secured a court order for Yoon’s arrest and detention, which presidential security ignored. The charge expired on Monday.

Kim Seong-hun took over from Park as Yoon’s security chief. He is expected to lead efforts to prevent the execution of a second arrest warrant. According to media reports, Yoon’s guards have fortified his compound in Seoul with barbed wire installations and bus barricades.

The CIO said they would “thoroughly prepare” for a second attempt to arrest Yoon and warned that anyone who interfered could be detained.

The National Bureau of Investigation, a police unit, also sent a memo to top police officials in Seoul asking them to prepare to mobilize 1,000 investigators for the new attempt, Yonhap news agency reported.

If Yoon is taken into custody, he will become the one the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.

Al Jazeera’s Patrick Fok, reporting from Seoul, said there was no indication when a second warrant for Yoon’s arrest might be executed, but said the week ahead could be decisive for the political crisis as Yoon’s first impeachment hearing takes place should be held on the 19th, Tuesday.

“It is unclear whether he will appear before the constitutional court; he suggested that he might not because of certain legal issues that remained unresolved,” Fok said. “And that’s going to complicate this whole process if he doesn’t appear in court.”

Fok said that the mood of the protest on Saturday remained celebratory and peaceful.

“These could be some of the biggest protests we’ve seen since this political saga unfolded, with some reports suggesting as many as half a million people are on the streets of Seoul,” he said.

“If you came here, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this for some kind of K-pop concert. These gatherings that are held are loud and colorful and meticulously organized. It’s easy to see why so many people want to be involved.”

Anti-Yon protester and student Kim Min-ji, 25, told the AFP news agency that the police and the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) did not act decisively.

“Despite our efforts, [Yoon] continues to evade responsibility,” Kim said. “It is crucial for us to raise our voices until he is removed from office.”

Yoon’s supporter Su Yo-hahn, 71, said the current president’s declaration of martial law, which he ostensibly was to root out anti-state forces, had “valid reasons”.

“He is someone elected by the people and represents our country. Saving Yoon is the way to save our nation,” Su said.

Brandon Kang, a 28-year-old Yoon supporter, told AFP he likes the president because he finds him “quite similar to US President-elect Donald Trump, which I really… appreciate.”