A month to the day after his failed attempt to impose martial law, investigators attempted to arrest the president at his official residence in Seoul’s Hannam district. Yoon Suk-yeol is accused of “rebellion” and “abuse of power”. He was supposed to be questioned, but did not show up to the investigators’ multiple summons. On site, they were confronted for more than four hours with a military unit and the presidential guard, it seems.
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The information was partial and it is very difficult to know what exactly was happening in the presidential residence of Yoon Suk-yeol to which the press did not have access. What we do know, according to the South Korean agency Yonhap, is that there were around 150 people deployed to try to arrest the president. Both police officers and investigators from the Senior Corruption Investigation Bureau, reports our correspondent in Seoul, Camille Ruiz.
They arrived around 7:20 a.m. local time, dressed entirely in black. After passing through the gate, they were first confronted by soldiers, again according to Yonhap. But questions remain unanswered about the presence of these soldiers. It seems that it was the presidential guard who then blocked the situation. Yoon Suk-yeol is suspended, but keeps this protection, because he is officially still in office. One of his lawyers arrived on the scene around 12:30 p.m.
More than 1,000 demonstrators in front of the presidential residence
Outside, on the outskirts of the estate, more than 1,000 demonstrators were on site. Yoon Suk-yeol’s ultraconservative electoral base has been present almost 24 hours a day for several days. But investigators warned. Anyone who opposes the arrest of President Yoon Suk-yeol may be prosecuted. The head of the Senior Corruption Investigation Bureau said: regret the behavior » of the deposed president.
Since his December 3 coup, Mr. Yoon has shown no regrets and his systematic refusal to submit to questions from investigators raises fears that new arrest attempts could degenerate into violence, further aggravating the serious crisis facing Asia’s fourth largest economy.
The Office of Investigation into Senior Corruption (CIO), which centralizes investigations, has until January 6 to execute the arrest warrant issued by a court at his request, without precedent, against a South Korean head of state. The deposed president, who is not allowed to leave the country, was in his official residence in Seoul, his lawyer confirmed to AFP. His legal team has filed an appeal against the arrest warrant, arguing that it is ” illegal and invalid “.
The IOC requested an arrest warrant after the ousted president, who is under investigation for “ rebellion » – a crime punishable by death – ignored three consecutive summons to be questioned.
“ Fight until the end »
Yoon Suk-yeol stunned the South Korea on the night of December 3 to 4 by imposing martial law and sending the army to Parliament to try to muzzle him, an episode which reminded the country of the dark hours of the military dictatorship.
He was forced to backtrack a few hours later, when MPs managed to enter Parliament and pass a motion demanding the lifting of martial law while their aides blocked the chamber doors with furniture and thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators gathered outside.
The 64-year-old former star prosecutor has shown no contrition since his dismissal, even vowing to “ fight until the end » in a letter distributed to his supporters. “ The Republic of Korea is currently in danger due to internal and external forces threatening its sovereignty, and the activities of anti-state elements », he wrote there.
