South Korea's impeached president defies arrest warrant in six hour standoff with police

Supporters of Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally near his presidential residence in Seoul. Credit: AP

South Korean investigators have failed to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after a near-six-hour standoff outside the leader's home in Seoul.

It’s the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralysed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.

Thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon’s residence on Friday, forming a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters who braved freezing temperatures for hours, chanting slogans vowing to protect him.

There were no immediate reports of major clashes outside the residence.Dozens of police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence to execute a warrant for Yoon’s detention, but the dramatic scene quickly developed into a standoff.

Two of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-keun and Kim Hong-il, were seen entering the gate of the presidential residence around noon. It wasn’t immediately clear what the lawyers discussed with the president.

South Korea's anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering Yoon’s residence for hours due to concerns about their safety.

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at the presidential residence in December. Credit: AP

The agency expressed “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law”.Yoon, a former prosecutor, has defied investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks.

The last time he is known to have left the residence was on December 12, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, making a defiant statement that he will fight efforts to oust him.Investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency are weighing charges of rebellion after Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law on December 3 and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly.

Yoon accused his opposition of sympathising with North Korea and paralysing the government with anti-state activities, but many saw his declaration as a power-grab. Parliament overturned the declaration within hours in an unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on December 14, accusing him of rebellion, while South Korean anti-corruption authorities and public prosecutors opened separate investigations into the events.

Police vehicles are seen near the gate of the presidential residence in Seoul. Credit: AP

Yoon’s defence minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the brief period of martial law.A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday, but enforcing it is complicated as long as he remains in his official residence.Yoon’s lawyers, who filed a challenge to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge.The office said it will discuss further actions, but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention is valid for one week.Yoon’s lawyers have also argued that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military investigators, lacks the authority to investigate rebellion charges.

Without elaborating further, they said that police officers don’t have the legal authority to assist in detaining Yoon, and could face arrest by either the "presidential security service or any citizens".

Kwon Young-se, who heads the emergency leadership committee of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, called the agency’s effort to detain Yoon “highly unfair and exceedingly improper," saying that there is no risk of Yoon attempting to flee or to destroy evidence.

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If investigators manage to detain Yoon, they will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.South Korea’s Defence Ministry confirmed that the investigators and police officers got past a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds before arriving at the building.

The presidential security service, which controls the residence itself, refused to comment.

South Korea’s YTN television reported scuffles as investigators and police confronted the presidential security forces.As the standoff progressed, the liberal opposition Democratic Party called on the country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to order the presidential security service to stand down. Choi didn’t immediately comment on the situation.

Democratic lawmaker Jo Seung-lae said Choi must “remember that swiftly addressing the rebellion and preventing further chaos is your responsibility”. Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him, and his fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment.

At least six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favour to remove him from office.The National Assembly voted last week to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of Yoon’s case.Facing growing pressure, the new acting president, Choi, appointed two new justices on Tuesday, which could increase the chances of the court upholding Yoon’s impeachment.

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