Kim Tong-hyun, Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean investigators resisted attempts to detain impeached President Yun Seok-Yeol on Friday and left the official residence after a nearly six-hour standoff. This is the latest standoff in a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics and resulted in the impeachment of two heads of state in less than a month.
The country’s anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its agents, citing concerns for their safety after the Presidential Guard blocked access to Yun’s residence for hours.
The agency said its outnumbered agents engaged in several scuffles with presidential security forces and expressed “serious regret at the suspect’s failure to comply with legal procedures.”
The newspaper said it would be “virtually impossible” to detain Yun as long as he was protected by the Presidential Security Bureau. The agency plans to “strongly request” the country’s acting leader, Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to instruct his forces to comply with the execution of the arrest warrant.
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Outside the official residence, thousands of demonstrators supporting Yoon endured subzero temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags and chanting slogans pledging to protect him.
The National Police Agency announced that it is investigating the president’s chief of security and his deputy on suspicion of obstructing the execution of official duties, and that they will be summoned for questioning on Saturday.
Yun, a former prosecutor, has resisted questioning by investigators for several weeks. The last known time he left his official residence was on December 12, when he traveled to the nearby presidential palace to address the nation on television and make defiant statements about fighting efforts to oust him. That was when I did it.
Anti-corruption agency investigators said that Mr. Yoon, clearly dissatisfied with his policies being blocked by the opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law on December 3 and sent troops to siege the parliament. As a result, charges of treason are being considered.
Within hours, the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the declaration and impeached Yoon for treason on December 14, but South Korea’s anti-corruption authorities and prosecutors launched separate investigations into the incident.
A Seoul court on Tuesday issued a warrant to arrest Mr. Yoon and another search warrant for his residence, but execution will be complicated as long as Mr. Yoon remains in his official residence.
Lawyers for Mr. Yun, who challenged the warrant on Thursday, said the warrant could not be used at his residence because of a law that prohibits searches of places that could be related to military secrets without the consent of those in charge. It is argued that it cannot be enforced.
The office said it would discuss further measures, but did not immediately say whether it would try to detain Mr. Yoon again. His detention warrant is valid for one week.
Yun’s lawyers also argued that the Office of High-Level Corruption Investigation, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military investigators, does not have the authority to investigate the rebellion charges. They said the officers had no legal authority to assist in detaining Mr. Yoon and that he could be arrested either by “the Presidential Security Bureau or the public.” They did not elaborate further on their claims.
If the investigative authorities succeed in detaining Yoon, they are likely to ask the court for formal permission to arrest him. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.
In a briefing to reporters, an Anti-Corruption Agency official said investigators were able to get within 200 meters of Yoon’s residence, but about 10 vehicles and about 200 presidential security personnel He said they were blocked by barricades of troops. And the military. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department rules, said three prosecutors were eventually allowed access to the building but could not confirm whether Yoon was inside.
Lawyer Park Sung-bae, who specializes in criminal law, said that although the Presidential Security Act requires Yoon to be protected, it does not give the Presidential Security Office the authority to block court-ordered detention, which is a violation of judicial authority. He said it would be the case. Presidents enjoy immunity from prosecution in most cases while in office, but that protection does not extend to charges of sedition or treason.
“Any act that obstructs the execution of a detention warrant is likely to constitute obstruction of official duties,” he said.
A law that requires the consent of the person in charge to search locations that may contain military secrets may continue to prevent Yoon from being detained. Courts often require law enforcement authorities to obtain search warrants with arrest warrants in case they need to search a scene to find a suspect, and anti-corruption agencies pursue Yoon. The same thing happened when I went there.
Park said Choi’s approval is unlikely because it is unlikely that Choi is the person in charge of Yoon’s residence.
House leader Park Chan-dae of the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Japan said the withdrawal of the Anti-Corruption Agency was regrettable and on Friday asked the Anti-Corruption Agency to try again to detain Yoon.
Kwon Young-se, chairman of the emergency leadership committee of Yoon’s conservative People’s Power Party, said the agency’s efforts to detain Yoon were “very unfair and extremely inappropriate.” He said there was no risk of him fleeing or attempting to destroy evidence.
Thousands of police officers gathered at Yun’s mansion on Friday, surrounding a growing group of pro-Yun demonstrators, braving subzero temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags as he stood outside. They chanted slogans pledging to protect. There were no immediate reports of large-scale clashes outside the official residence.
Yun’s defense minister, police chief, and several top military officials have already been arrested for their roles during martial law.
Since the National Assembly voted to impeach Yun on December 14, his presidential powers have been suspended. Yun’s fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has upheld the impeachment and has begun deliberations on whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him. At least six judges of the nine-member Constitutional Court would need to vote in favor of his removal.
Last week, the National Assembly impeached Prime Minister Han Do-soo, who took over as acting president after Yoon’s powers were suspended, for his reluctance to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court ahead of the court’s review of Yoon’s case. The resolution was passed.
Facing mounting pressure, new acting President Choe appointed two new judges on Tuesday, which could increase the chances that the court will uphold Yoon’s impeachment.
First published: January 3, 2025 5:45am PST
