Mon 30 Dec 2024 21.06 EST (TheGuardian.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A court in South Korea has approved an arrest warrant<\/a> for the country\u2019s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his ill-fated decision to impose martial law early this month, investigators said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoon\u2019s decision to declare martial law late on 3 December plunged Asia\u2019s fourth-biggest economy into its worst political crisis for decades and caused concern in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoon was forced to lift the order just six hours later after MPs forced their way into parliament to vote it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The corruption investigation office confirmed that a court in Seoul had approved the warrant, but it was not clear if police would be able to execute it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe arrest warrant and search warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol \u2026 were issued this morning,\u201d the Joint Investigation Headquarters said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoon Kab-keun, a lawyer for Yoon, condemned the move. \u201cThe arrest warrant and search and seizure warrant issued at the request of an agency without investigative authority are illegal and invalid,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon after investigators said they had raided the army\u2019s counterintelligence offices as part of the growing martial law probe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe emergency martial law investigation team of the Corruption Investigation Office is conducting a search and seizure operation at the Counterintelligence Command this afternoon,\u201d investigators said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoon has so far refused to cooperate with the investigation into his martial law order. He has failed to report to investigators for questioning over allegations of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion, and his presidential security service has prevented court-ordered searches of his office and residence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoon also faces charges of insurrection \u2013 a crime that can carry life imprisonment or the death penalty and one of the few charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An official from the corruption investigation office said Yoon\u2019s refusal to be questioned had prompted the warrant request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe reason for the warrant is that there is a concern that the individual may refuse to comply with summons without justifiable reasons, and there is sufficient probable cause to suspect the commission of a crime,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The warrant is valid until 6 January, he said, adding that Yoon could be held at a police station or the Seoul detention centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Media reports said an imminent arrest or search of the presidential residence was unlikely, as investigators would seek to coordinate with the presidential security service. Technically, anyone obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant could be arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But under South Korean law, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge, and it is unlikely that Yoon will voluntarily leave his residence if he faces arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the first time an arrest warrant has been issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, according to local media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Police were deployed early on Tuesday outside Yoon\u2019s residence in central Seoul in an attempt to prevent unrest. Yoon\u2019s supporters and protesters calling for his removal have staked out his residence, with local media showing images of altercations between the two camps overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnless Yoon voluntarily lets them detain him, there is no way to detain him,\u201d said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership. \u201cShould investigators have hand-to-hand fights with the security service?\u201d Park Sung-min, president of the Seoul-based political consulting firm MIN Consulting, said the push for an arrest warrant was probably an attempt to pressure Yoon to cooperate with the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The acting leader of South Korea\u2019s ruling People Power party, Kweon Seong-dong, said on Tuesday that attempting to detain a sitting president was inappropriate, according to Yonhap news agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoon\u2019s presidential powers were suspended after the national assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December over his imposition of martial law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The constitutional court has 180 days from that date to decide whether to confirm the impeachment or reinstate Yoon, whose two-and-a-half years in office have been marred by scandal and policy deadlock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The martial law order triggered weeks of political and market turmoil. Yoon\u2019s replacement, Han Duck-soo, was also impeached last week for refusing to approve bills to facilitate the investigation into his predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Han\u2019s successor as interim president, Choi Sang-mok, had been in office for just two days when he was confronted with the fatal plane crash at Muan international airport, the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday Choi called for national harmony and unity and for trust in the government in a New Year\u2019s address. \u201cThe Republic of Korea is in an unprecedentedly serious situation,\u201d Choi said in a written statement, citing changes around global trade, diplomacy and security, as well as domestic political uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe government will do its best to run state affairs stably in all areas of defence, diplomacy, economy and society for the people to feel relieved,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agencies contributed reporting<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Link to original post: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/dec\/31\/arrest-warrant-south-korea-president-yoon-suk-yeol-martial-law-ntwnfb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The warrant was sought over Yoon\u2019s controversial and short-lived decision to impose martial law early in December Justin McCurry in Osaka and agencies Mon 30 Dec 2024 21.06 EST (TheGuardian.com) A court in South Korea has approved an arrest warrant for the country\u2019s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his… Continue reading ![\"South](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/10fdda2de9a1c4c27f47279e2546dd12fd8d04d9\/0_13_8640_4859\/8640.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none\")
Choi said that investigators were still likely to visit Yoon\u2019s residence to show they were doing their work diligently and fairly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n