SEOUL: South Korea’s political leadership was in uncharted territory on Saturday (Jan 4) 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 then 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 stand-off. 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.
“It was a dangerous situation.”
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 the warrant is carried out, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
ARREST SHOWDOWN
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), probing Yoon over his martial law decree, could make another bid to arrest him before then.
But if the warrant lapses, they may apply for another.
The Constitutional Court slated Jan 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.
Two top officials from Yoon’s presidential security service also refused a police request to appear for questioning on Saturday, citing the “serious nature” of protecting him, the service said in a statement sent to AFP.
Experts said investigators could wait for greater legal justification before attempting to arrest the suspended president again.
“It may be challenging to carry out the arrest until the Constitutional Court rules on the impeachment motion and strips him of the presidential title,” Chae Jin-won of Humanitas College at Kyung Hee University told AFP.
“STABLE PATH”
South Korean media reported that CIO officials had wanted to arrest Yoon and take him to their office in Gwacheon near Seoul for questioning.
After that, he could have been held for up to 48 hours on the existing warrant. Investigators would have needed to apply for another arrest warrant to keep him in custody.
If Yoon is arrested before that date, the CIO will have 48 hours to either request a new warrant for his formal arrest or release him.
Even if Jan 6 comes and goes, the CIO can reapply for the same seven-day detention warrant.
If they fail to detain Yoon before the Jan 6 deadline, investigators could seek a new, stronger arrest warrant that would allow them to detain him longer than the 48 hours allowed under the current court order.
Experts say the likelihood of a court approving it is not low, given that Yoon has already refused to appear for questioning three times and has not complied with the existing warrant.
The stronger warrant is typically issued when “a suspect refuses to cooperate with the investigation”, political commentator Park Sang-byung told AFP.
Yoon has also “incited and encouraged extreme (right-wing) supporters, which could be seen as effectively admitting to the criminal charges in the eyes of the court,” he added.
But executing this type of warrant, even if issued by the court, may not be feasible if Yoon again refuses to leave his residence with the assistance of his security forces, which include a military unit.
Yoon has remained defiant and told his right-wing supporters this week he would fight “to the very end” for his political survival.
By the time investigators arrived to arrest Yoon, he had layered his presidential compound with hundreds of security forces to prevent it.
Around 20 investigators and 80 police officers were heavily outnumbered by around 200 soldiers and security personnel linking arms to block their way.
A tense six-hour stand-off ensued until Friday afternoon when the investigators were forced to U-turn.
The investigators said in a statement on Friday they would ask Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who was installed as acting president a week ago, to back the warrant.
Choi, a member of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party who also serves as deputy prime minister and finance minister, is yet to comment on the issue.
Experts suggest that if Choi orders the security service to cooperate, the chances of Yoon being arrested before the Jan 6 deadline will increase.
But the acting president has already faced severe backlash from his party for appointing two new justices to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court.
That decision has increased the likelihood of the court upholding Yoon’s impeachment – with at least six out of eight needed to back the decision.
Given the situation, “it is unlikely that Choi would cooperate with the CIO’s request,” Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP.
Choi’s short-lived predecessor in the role of acting president and prime minister, Han Duck-soo, was impeached by lawmakers who argued he refused a key opposition demand to install three extra judges at the Constitutional Court, viewed as impeding Yoon’s potential removal from office.
“WAIT” FOR COURT
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to determine whether to dismiss Yoon as president or restore his powers.
Until then, while suspended, Yoon holds the title of president.
Experts suggest the process for investigators to prosecute or formally arrest Yoon would be much easier were he to be stripped of the presidential title.
But the 180-day timeframe is considerable and could potentially delay proceedings significantly.
The Constitutional Court has said it will expedite the impeachment trial due to the seriousness of the case.
But Yoon’s lawyers argued on Friday that the court must utilise the full 180 days to conduct the hearings, especially to examine “the circumstances that led to the declaration of martial law”.
The weeks of political turmoil have threatened the country’s stability.
South Korea’s key security ally, the United States, called for the political elite to work towards a “stable path” forward.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Friday reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to maintaining bilateral ties.
Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to hold talks in Seoul on Monday, with one eye on US-South Korea relations and another on nuclear-armed North Korea.
