Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
South Korean investigators entered the residential compound of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol early Friday morning to enforce an unprecedented arrest warrant, as hundreds gathered to support the embattled leader who plunged the nation into political chaos with a swiftly overturned declaration of martial law last month.
The president is wanted for questioning in multiple investigations, including accusations of leading an insurrection – a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The move to detain him deepens an ongoing showdown between a defiant Yoon and investigators.
A court on Tuesday approved the warrant for Yoon – the first time such action has been taken against a sitting president. In response, the presidential security team said that “(s)ecurity measures will be taken in accordance with due process for matters related to the execution of warrants.”
Yoon, himself a former prosecutor, has refused to answer three summonses by investigators in recent weeks asking for his cooperation, according to South Korea’s Corruption Investigation Office (CIO).
The leader was stripped of presidential powers last month by a parliamentary vote to impeach him, which came after some members of his own party turned on him following his refusal to resign over his short-lived decree.
A large police presence could be seen around the presidential residence in Seoul on Friday, many officers flanked by police vans as investigators moved to take Yoon in for questioning.
Hundreds of Yoon’s supporters gathered on the main road near the residence despite frigid temperatures with some camping there overnight. Some held signs with the phrase “Stop the steal” printed in English; other placards described his arrest as treason. Protesters shouted that they should push through the barricade set up by police while others chanted: “Arrest the CIO.”
An hour after investigators moved to enforce the warrant, the main opposition party released a statement urging the presidential security team to cooperate and “firmly refuse” any unlawful orders.
The Democratic Party called on Yoon to “walk out of your residence, where you are cowardly hiding, and be obedient with the execution of your arrest warrant.”
“All members of the Republic of Korea need to abide by law and order,” the statement said.
In a separate statement, Yoon’s lawyer reiterated the arrest warrant was “an illegal, invalid warrant” and vowed to take legal action against its execution.
Yoon’s defense team on Tuesday filed an injunction with the Constitutional Court to suspend the warrant, as well as a separate objection filed to a lower court over the warrant.
Yoon can be held for up to 48 hours for questioning with the existing warrant issued by the court in relation to charges of abuse of authority and leading an insurrection. The CIO would need to apply for a secondary warrant within that period to detain him further.
The existing warrant is valid until January 6 but can be extended, according to the CIO.
The suspended president has remained defiant in the face of investigations and an impeachment trial underway by one of the country’s highest courts, vowing in a statement Thursday to “fight to the end” for the country.
The statement was his first public comment in weeks after he largely stayed away from public view during the fallout from his widely condemned decree.
Yoon declared martial law in a surprise late-night address on December 3, claiming opposition lawmakers had “paralyzed state affairs” and that the move was necessary to “safeguard a liberal South Korea” from the threats posed by “anti-state elements.”
Members of the National Assembly, including some from Yoon’s own party, voted to reverse the declaration some six hours later. Yoon’s order faced fierce backlash from the public and lawmakers across the political spectrum, reviving painful memories of the country’s authoritarian past.
In the weeks since, the country has been in political disarray with parliament also voting to impeach its prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo, just weeks after it voted to impeach Yoon. The finance minister Choi Sang-mok is now acting president.
The move to detain Yoon follows the emergence of new allegations about what exactly happened during those hours before the motion was rescinded.
As CNN has reported, Yoon ordered troops to South Korea’s parliament as lawmakers scrambled to block the martial law order with a parliamentary vote. As soldiers attempted to enter the main hall of the National Assembly, lawmakers erected barricades using chairs and other furniture to stop them from entering.
In a 10-page summary from the former defense minister’s prosecution indictment report on Friday, Yoon had allegedly instructed the military to use firearms to break the doors, if necessary, to remove lawmakers gathering inside the main chamber.
The former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun was arrested last month and was indicted for abuse of power and serving as a key figure in the insurrection operation, the statement said.
Yoon’s impeachment proceedings are being handled in a separate Constitutional Court trial. That court will decide whether he will be formally removed from the presidency or reinstated in office. That process could take up to six months, with an initial pretrial hearing held late last month. A second hearing, which Yoon is not required to attend, is scheduled for Friday – the same day investigators arrived to enforce their warrant.
The Constitutional Court has vowed to take the case as a “top priority” along with other impeachment cases the opposition has pushed for against Yoon’s administration, including the justice minister, prosecutors and other senior officials.
This is a developing story. CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey and Alex Stambaugh contributed reporting.
