hm-atif-wafik

S Korea In Political Crisis After President Resists Arrest

File Photo

File Photo

South Korea's political leadership was in uncharted territory Saturday after the sitting president resisted arrest over a failed martial law decree days before the warrant expires.

In scenes of high drama on Friday, Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential guards and military troops shielded the former star prosecutor from investigators, who called off their arrest attempt citing safety concerns.

The South Korean president was impeached and suspended last month after the bungled martial law declaration -- a political move swiftly overturned by parliament -- with a separate warrant later issued for his arrest.

"There was a standoff. While we estimated the personnel blocking us to be around 200, there could have been more," an official from the investigation team said Friday on condition of anonymity.

Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.

If carried out, the warrant would make Yoon the first sitting president ever arrested.

Since his impeachment, Yoon has holed up in his presidential residence in the capital Seoul, where he has refused to emerge for questioning three times.

The unprecedented showdown -- which reportedly included clashes but no shots fired -- left the arrest attempt by investigators in limbo with the court-ordered warrant set to expire on Monday.

Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is probing Yoon over his martial law decree, said there could be another bid to arrest him before then.

But if the warrant lapses, they would have to apply for another from the same Seoul court that issued the initial summons.

The Constitutional Court slated January 14 for the start of Yoon's impeachment trial, which if he does not attend would continue in his absence.

Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.

Yoon's lawyers decried Friday's arrest attempt as "unlawful and invalid", and vowed to take legal action.

Experts said investigators could wait for greater legal justification before attempting to arrest the suspended president again.

Subscribe Shampratik Deshkal Youtube Channel

Comments

Shampratik Deshkal Epaper

Logo

Address: 10/22 Iqbal Road, Block A, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207

© 2025 Shampratik Deshkal All Rights Reserved. Design & Developed By Root Soft Bangladesh