South Korea: Investigators storm into presidential residence to arrest impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korean law enforcement officials entered the presidential residence on Friday in an attempt to execute the arrest warrant against the country’s impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol. Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office were allowed to enter Yoon’s residence in Seoul to arrest the doomed leader. According to South Korean news outlet Yonhap, the investigators met with some resistance from Yoon’s supporters.

On Friday, the investigators released a statement announcing that they are executing the arrest warrant. “The execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol has begun,” the office said. If Yoon is detained in the ongoing standoff, he would become the first sitting president of South Korea to be arrested. After the execution of the warrant, the investigators will have 48 hours to investigate him and either request a warrant for his formal arrest or release him, Yonhap reported.

The standoff took place a month after the South Korean National Assembly impeached Yoon, following the botched execution of martial law across the country. The authorities have already arrested Yoon’s defence minister, police chief and several top military commanders over their roles in the martial law declaration.

Why is Yoon being arrested?

Apart from the impeachment proceedings, Yoon faces allegations of stirring an insurrection during the short-lived marital law. Yoon rattled the county after he declared martial law on December 3. At that time he said that the move aimed to root out “anti-state, pro-North Korean forces – a reference to opposition MPs in the national assembly.”

However, he did not provide evidence to support his claims which prompted backlash from both the ruling and the opposition lawmakers. Yoon was eventually forced to lift the order six hours later after members of the national assembly stormed into the South Korean parliament to vote down the law.

Soon after the martial law was lifted, investigators began their attempt to take Yoon to court over the matter. According to Yonhap, the impeached South Korean president is currently holed up inside his residence in Seoul, as of 8:15 am (local time). The warrant came after Yoon ignored multiple court summons in the case.

It is pertinent to note that insurrection is one of the few crimes from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. If found guilty, the president can face heavy penalties, including life imprisonment or a death sentence. The ultra-conservative politician’s two and a half years in office have been marred by scandal and policy gridlock.

Chaos outside Yoon’s residence

According to South Korean broadcasters YTN, around 2,800 police had been mobilised in the area as Yoon’s supporters tried to block the investigators from entering the building. The arrest warrant is due to expire on Monday and there is no immediate report of clashes between civilians and authorities as of now. It is also unclear exactly how police would make the arrest and whether they would be blocked by members of the presidential security service.

Meanwhile, about 100 protesters had gathered near Yoon’s residence before dawn after reports of his arrest started to swirl. “We have to block them with our lives,” one was heard saying to the crowd, YTN reported. Earlier, the South Korean leader told his supporters that he would fight the ongoing saga “until the end”.

“I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing,” Yoon said in a letter to his supporters. “I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you,” he added.
Meanwhile, a second constitutional court hearing in the impeachment case, which is separate from the criminal investigation is scheduled to take place later on Friday. Amid the chaos, Yoon’s defence lawyers issued a statement in which they said that they would take legal action over the “illegal” execution of a warrant for his arrest, Yonhap reported.

With inputs from agencies.