South Korea’s state anti-corruption agency has suspended efforts to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, after an hours-long confrontation on December 3 between investigators and the president’s security staff.
According to Yonhap news agency, the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) said it stopped executing the arrest warrant at 1:30 a.m. (local time), about 5 hours after the arrest warrants were announced. CIO investigators went to the presidential palace to arrest Mr. Yoon.
Military prevents investigators from arresting Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol?
In a press release, the CIO said: “We have determined that enforcement of the arrest warrant will be nearly impossible due to the continued confrontation, and have suspended execution of the warrant out of concern.” for the safety of on-site personnel caused by the protest”. The CIO said he is planning to decide on the next steps.
The CIO also stated: “We feel extremely regrettable about the suspect’s behavior in refusing to comply with the procedures prescribed by law.”
Police and investigators leave the residence of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on January 3, 2025.
According to Reuters, members of the CIO, the unit leading the joint investigation team into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, arrived at the gate of the presidential palace shortly after 7 a.m. today 3.1 (Korean time) and walk inside, .
Once inside the presidential palace, the CIO investigators and accompanying police faced a barrier of employees of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), as well as soldiers dispatched to protect security. security for the president, according to Reuters citing information from the Korean press. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense announced that those soldiers were under the control of the PSS.
In a statement released today, Mr. Yoon’s lawyer argued that executing Mr. Yoon’s arrest warrant was illegal and said they would take legal action.
The above arrest warrant was approved by the court on December 31, 2024, after Mr. Yoon ignored many summons for questioning. However, the order is only valid until January 6 and only gives investigators 48 hours to detain Mr. Yoon after his arrest. Investigators must then decide whether to request a detention order or release him, according to Reuters.
