South Korean guards prevent arrest of impeached Yoon Seok-yeol after standoff | Wilnesh News

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean authorities tried and failed Friday to issue an unprecedented arrest warrant for the president. Yin Xiyeol in his Failed attempt to declare martial law Dramatic confrontation at the presidential palace where Yoon has been living since his impeachment last month.

Investigators and police began leaving Yoon’s official residence in central Seoul around 1:30 p.m. local time (11:30 p.m. ET Thursday), more than five hours after they first passed through the steel gate.

They said they had suspended execution of the day’s arrest warrant “because we have concluded that it is not possible to execute it today”, citing security concerns as they were blocked by President Yoon’s security personnel.

“To our extreme regret, the suspect has not responded to legal proceedings,” the joint investigative team said in a statement.

Yoon’s attorneys called the warrant illegal, and it doesn’t expire until Monday, before officials can try to serve it again.

They are seeking to detain Yoon on rebellion charges, one of the few crimes for which South Korea’s president does not have immunity. Officers must then apply for a separate court warrant to formally charge and continue to detain him.

Thousands of police officers arrived at the compound on Friday, a month after Yin’s incident. brief period of martial law.

In addition to Yin’s security personnel, they also faced a growing number of Yin’s conservative supporters outside the residence, who tried to form a “human shield” to protect him from arrest, some of whom waved American flags in a show of opposition to the United States. Support – Korea Alliance.

Officials said a warrant for Yoon’s arrest was served to Park Jong-joon, the presidential security chief, at 10:11 a.m. Friday.

The Presidential Security Service has also blocked investigators from searching Yoon’s office and residence in recent weeks, telling NBC News it is required by law to protect the president, including preventing anyone from entering the premises to serve a search warrant.

South Korea’s Joint Investigation Headquarters said Friday afternoon that Park Geun-hye was summoned “for obstructing special official duties.”

The main opposition Democratic Party criticized the actions of the presidential security personnel and said Choi Sang-mok, South Korea’s second acting president since Yun Eun-hye was impeached on December 14, should take “decisive action” to ensure Yun Eun-hye is arrested.

While Yoon, 64, is not the first South Korean president to be impeached, he would be the first sitting president of an East Asian democracy to be arrested. Since the impeachment, he has been suspended from the presidency pending a Constitutional Court trial to determine whether the impeachment should be upheld.

Yin’s lawyer said on Friday that he was “prepared to abide by the law, as long as it is due process of law.”

they challenged A search warrant was issued Tuesday. South Korea’s presidential office said the Office of Corruption Investigation of Senior Officials, which leads the joint investigation team, did not have overall command authority over the police and therefore arrested Yoon and searched the Blue House and official residence.

One of Yin’s lawyers, Yin Jiagen, said via text message on Friday that “legal action will be taken against any illegal situation that occurs during the execution of this illegal arrest warrant.”

Yoon, who takes office for a five-year term in 2022, has been trying to advance the legislative agenda in the opposition-controlled parliament.

in a Surprising Late Night Lecture on December 3He accuses “anti-state forces” of paralyzing the government and sympathizes with the Communist Party North Korea and declared emergency martial law, which included a ban on all political activities.

He rescinded the order about six hours later after lawmakers voted unanimously to reject it.

Although Mr. Yin has apologized for martial law, he Refusing to appear in court for questioning multiple times He said that as president, he had the authority to issue the order, South Korea’s first since 1980.

This incident deeply shocked South Korea A long history of military dictatorships But it has since transformed into one of Asia’s most dynamic democracies and the world’s 10th largest economy.

one Gallup Korea Poll A survey released on December 13 showed Yin’s approval rating at 11%, down from 19% before martial law was declared.

Yet Yin still has some supporters, with thousands gathering outside the presidential palace in recent days. Some waving American flags believe Yoon and his conservative People Power party are more supportive of the U.S. alliance than the Liberal Democrats, whom they accuse of being friendlier to China and North Korea.

Others held signs and adopted slogans associated with the president-elect Donald TrumpFalse claims of 2020 election fraud “Stop the Steal.”

Jiang Chengmin said that Yin should not be arrested and that he protested “to ensure that this does not happen.”

“These actions were ultra vires from the beginning and the initiation of the investigation was illegal,” Gang, who is in his 20s, said Friday. “So I believe the people can step in to stop this illegal behavior.”

In a letter to protesters late Wednesday, Yoon said he had been watching their efforts on YouTube.

“Thank you so much, I feel so sad,” he wrote, adding that he was worried about their health in the cold weather.

Yoon, a former chief prosecutor of South Korea, said South Korea was in “danger” as “anti-state forces” at home and abroad tried to “steal the country’s sovereignty”.

“I will fight with you to the end to protect our country,” he said. “Our country belongs to everyone in South Korea, not to the government or political parties.”

The Democratic Party said Yoon’s message to supporters was “grossly inappropriate” and “shows that he remains trapped in his own delusions.”

“What is most worrying is that he has incited extreme conflict and chaos among his supporters through this message,” Cao Chenglai, the party’s chief spokesman, said on Thursday. “As if planning an insurrection was not enough, he is now also inciting his Followers provoke extreme conflicts and riots.”

North Korea is still technically at war with South Korea, whose state media said on Friday that the crisis in South Korea had led to “paralysis of national administration and intensified sociopolitical chaos.”

The Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide whether to confirm Yoon’s impeachment and held a second hearing on Friday. If President Yoon is dismissed, a presidential by-election must be held within 60 days.

Although Prime Minister Han Deok-soo initially served as acting president, he had been in office for less than two weeks. He was also impeached On December 27, he refused to immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court.

Cui Tiankai, former deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance, took office as acting president two days before the meeting. Jeju Air passenger plane crashes The world’s worst air crash in 2024 occurred in the southwestern city of Muan, killing 179 of the 181 people on board.

Stella Kim, Steve Patterson, Stephanie Fuerte and Beomsu Jo reported from Seoul, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.