South Korea’s Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) made the request in an official letter before the arrest warrant expired in a few hours.
“We are conducting an internal legal review,” a police officer told Yonhap News Agency.
Unable to get past the Korean presidential protection group, investigators stopped the arrest warrant
However, some sources later revealed to Yonhap that the above letter from the CIO had caused complaints within the police that the CIO was trying to push its responsibility, after conducting the arrest warrant in a haphazard manner. lack of resolve last week.
The CIO stopped executing the arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on January 3 after hours of confrontation with the security team protecting the president at the presidential palace in Seoul.
Police walk near the official residence of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on January 6.
The CIO worked with the police and the investigation unit of the Korean Ministry of National Defense to conduct a joint investigation into Mr. Yoon’s short-term imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024.
With the arrest warrant set to expire at midnight, the CIO is expected to make a second attempt to arrest Mr. Yoon or request an extension, among other options. The CIO then said he would request an extension of Mr. Yoon’s arrest warrant, according to Yonhap.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yoon’s lawyer has repeatedly said that Mr. Yoon’s arrest order is “illegal”, pledging to take further legal action against this order.
The head of Mr. Yoon’s presidential security agency also emphasized on January 5 that he would not allow investigators to arrest the impeached president, according to AFP.
