South Korea’s Yoon avoids questioning as security tightened after court rampage By Reuters
By Hyunsu Yim and Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol refused to be questioned by investigators on Monday as part of a probe into whether he committed sedition, while dozens of his supporters faced arrest for a violent rampage at a courthouse.
Authorities said security was beefed up at the Seoul detention center where Yoon is being held as a pretrial prisoner and at the Constitutional Court, which is conducting an impeachment trial to decide whether to permanently remove him from office.
Yoon became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested last week for his short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3.
He was formally processed into custody on Sunday, including having his photograph taken, after a court granted the warrant, citing concerns that the suspect could destroy evidence.
After the midnight verdict, angry supporters of Yoon stormed the Western District Court building in Seoul early Sunday, destroying property and clashing with police who were occasionally overpowered by mobs wielding broken barricades to attack them.
Police plan to arrest 66 people for trespassing, obstructing official duty and assaulting police officers, Yonhap news agency reported.
Other perpetrators are still being identified and police will also take legal action against them, Acting Justice Minister Kim Seok-woo told the Parliamentary Committee on Justice.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok expressed deep regret for the “unlawful violence” at the courthouse and also called on the police to strictly enforce the law to prevent a repeat of what happened on Sunday.
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Hundreds of protesters, some of whom threw fire extinguishers at police lines, broke through a cordon to enter the courthouse shortly after the ruling was handed down at 3 a.m. Sunday to approve Yoon’s detention.
Some of them were seen on videos wandering the halls where the judges’ offices were located and calling out the name of the judge who issued the order.
At least one judge’s chamber was broken into, said Chun Dae-yup, head of the National Judicial Administration.
Several of those involved live-streamed the incursion on YouTube, with footage showing protesters vandalizing the court and chanting Yoon’s name. Some streamers have been caught by the police during their broadcasts.
Yoon’s refusal to appear for questioning on Monday at the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO), which is leading the criminal investigation, comes after he repeatedly refused to cooperate with the investigation.
His lawyers argued that his arrest on Wednesday and the warrant issued for his detention were illegal because they were supported by a court with the wrong jurisdiction and the CIO itself has no legal authority to conduct the investigation.
Sedition, the crime for which Yoon could be charged, is one of the few for which the South Korean president does not have immunity and is technically punishable by death. South Korea, however, has not executed anyone for almost 30 years.
Through his lawyers, Yoon said he found Sunday’s rampage in court “shocking and unfortunate,” urging people to express their opinions peacefully. In a statement, Yoon also said he understood many felt “anger and injustice,” asking the police to take a tolerant stance.
