This is a first in South Korea. President Yoon Suk-yeol has been detained for several hours now, the anti-corruption agency said. This Wednesday, January 15, he was arrested following a new assault on his residence by investigators who wanted to question him about his failed attempt to impose martial law in the country at the beginning of December. The deposed head of state “exercises his right to remain silent”, declared to the press a few hours later an official from the Office for the Investigation of Corruption of Senior Personalities (CIO).
After a first raid which turned into a fiasco at the beginning of January, agents of the CIO and the police showed up in numbers, before dawn, at the residence transformed into a fortress where the former prosecutor has been holed up for weeks in a neighborhood posh Seoul. After having to cross the surrounding wall by ladders under the eyes of thousands of supporters of the right-wing leader, the team of prosecutors announced that they had apprehended him at 10:33 a.m. (02:33 a.m. French time), before taking him to his local. Never before has a sitting head of state been arrested in South Korea.
“Avoid any bloodshed”
“I have decided to respond to the Corruption Investigation Bureau,” Yoon Suk-yeol announced in a video message, adding that he does not recognize the legality of the investigation but submits to it. to avoid any unfortunate bloodshed.” Suspended by deputies and targeted by an investigation for “rebellion”, a crime punishable by death, Yoon Suk-yeol had until then always refused to explain himself, pushing prosecutors to use arrest warrants in order to to force him to do so. His interrogation began at 11:00 a.m. local time (3:00 a.m. French time). He can be held in custody for 48 hours under the current warrant. Investigators will have to request a new one to possibly extend his detention.
Under impeachment proceedings, Yoon Suk-yeol is in turmoil for having briefly introduced martial law on December 3, a shock measure reminiscent of the dark hours of the military dictatorship. He then justified it by his desire to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces” and to “eliminate elements hostile to the State”. In a Parliament surrounded by soldiers, the deputies had foiled his plans by voting on a text demanding the lifting of this state of exception. Put under pressure by elected officials, thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators and constrained by the Constitution, Yoon Suk-yeol had to comply.
On January 3, the Presidential Security Service (PSS), responsible for protecting heads of state, blocked the IOC’s initial attempt to execute the first arrest warrant against the president. For their second raid, prompted by a new arrest order, the authorities had warned that they would apprehend anyone who obstructed them.
“First step towards the return of order”
The arrest of Yoon Suk-yeol is “the first step towards the return of order”, greeted Park Chan-dae, head of deputies of the Democratic Party (main opposition force) in Parliament. “History will inevitably remember that the IOC and the police carried out an unjust and illegal mandate,” criticized Kweon Seong-dong, his counterpart from the People’s Power Party (PPP) from which the president comes.
With the chaos “over”, Parliament Speaker Woo Won-shik called for focusing “efforts on stabilizing state affairs and restoring people’s livelihoods”, the economy having been shaken by this crisis which risks being prolonged. The Court has until mid-June to rule on the motion for dismissal voted on December 14 by the deputies. Suspended, Yoon Suk-yeol officially remains president while awaiting the verdict of the court which could permanently dismiss him and call elections, or reinstate him in his functions. On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court formally launched its trial with a very short first hearing. But the president did not show up, citing “concerns” about security. The procedure will continue even without him. A second hearing is scheduled for Thursday.