Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested at his residence in Seoul’s Yongsan district on the morning of January 15 and taken to the headquarters of the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) in the city. Gwacheon, south of Seoul.
Mr. Yoon is being investigated for charges of rebellion related to the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024. He was impeached by parliament and suspended from all positions.
Up to now, Mr. Yoon still remains silent and refuses to answer questions from the investigation agency. The CIO confirmed that the president will be detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.
Reporters outside the CIO headquarters in Gwacheon on January 15
Mr. Yoon’s supporters have been protesting outside his residence for the past few weeks and gathered in front of the CIO headquarters on January 15 after the leader was brought here.
The arrest has caused divided opinions. The opposition Democratic Party (DPK) said it was the first step toward restoring constitutional order and democracy. The DPK also urged the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) to pass a bill to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate treason charges against Mr. Yoon.
According to the sheet The Korea TimesPPP announced again that it would hold CIO officials liable for illegal arrests. PPP interim leader Kwon Young-se said that Mr. Yoon’s arrest was a tragedy, an act aimed at humiliating him instead of revealing the truth. Mr. Kwon also criticized the court for issuing an illegal arrest warrant and emphasized that the CIO had no authority to investigate the president, accusing the police of colluding with the DPK.
In another development, according to Yonhap news agency, a man burned himself outside the CIO headquarters in Gwacheon city, where Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol was detained for investigation.
Yonhap initially said that the person who self-immolated was taken to the hospital by firefighters but died. Later, the authorities confirmed that this person was alive but in critical condition because of severe burns.
Police are verifying the identity of this person and investigating the cause of the incident. This man is believed to be about 60 years old and self-immolated about 300 meters from the investigation agency building. Authorities confirmed no one was near the man at the time.
