Standoff in South Korea as investigators try to arrest indicted president
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South Korean investigators are trying to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol as part of an investigation into alleged treason and abuse of power after his attempt to impose martial law last month failed.
About 30 investigators from the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau and 120 police officers entered Yoon’s residence in central Seoul early Friday, state news agency Yonhap said. The head of the presidential security service did not allow investigators and police to search Yoon’s home, it said.
Hundreds of Yoon’s supporters gathered outside his residence, chanting “Impeachment invalid” and “Protect Yoon.”
In case of arrest Yoon will be the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
Yoon triggered an acute political crisis South Korea with his failed attempt to impose martial law. He was impeached by parliament last month, but the move must be approved by the country’s Constitutional Court.
The independent anti-corruption agency is expected to question Yoon about a possible uprising after he reportedly sent troops into the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from rejecting his short-lived martial law decree.
Yoon’s lawyers said Friday the agency’s attempt to arrest the president was “illegal and invalid” and that they would take legal action against the move.
A court issued the arrest warrant this week after Yoon refused to respond to repeated summonses for questioning. If arrested, he will be questioned by investigators and held in a detention center for two days before the anti-corruption agency either releases him or charges him with treason.
Yoon sent a letter to hundreds of his supporters who gathered outside his residence on Wednesday. “The country is in danger from subversive forces. I will fight to the end to protect the nation with you,” he wrote.
The “law should apply equally to everyone,” Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said on Friday. “Not all people should be sacrificed because of the selfishness of one person or one group
special interests.”
Under South Korea’s constitution, the president is immune from criminal prosecution unless he is charged with rebellion or treason. Acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two judges to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, filling two of the vacancies on the nine-member bench.
The court’s eight sitting justices will hold a second hearing on Friday on whether to remove Yoon from office. The court has until June to make a ruling, but that deadline can be extended. At least six votes are needed to approve Yoon’s removal from office. If he is removed from office, a presidential election must be held within 60 days.
The political unrest has weighed on the South Korean economy, which faces the prospect of higher U.S. tariffs starting with Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. The government on Thursday cut its growth forecast for this year to 1.8 percent from 2.2 percent and is considering drafting an additional budget to boost sluggish domestic consumption.
Choi on Friday ordered officials to take “swift and bold” action to stabilize financial markets in the event of increased volatility.
He said he would continue to meet senior financial officials, including Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong, every week to monitor market conditions. Rhee warned on Thursday of growing downside risks to South Korea’s economy, saying the bank would be “flexible” with the pace of interest rate cuts amid “unprecedented” political and economic uncertainties.
South Korea’s stocks and currency were among the worst performers in Asia last year, partly due to political chaos. The Kospi stock index fell nearly 10 percent and the won was trading near its lowest level since 2009. The Kospi was up 1 percent. 7 percent on Friday morning.
