U. S. Secretary of Defense / Wikimedia Commons
South Korea’s ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol
Are you at the official residence? No one knows, except presidential security — which doesn’t let anyone in there. Is there an arrest warrant? There is. Can you capture him? No.
South Korean police said on Wednesday they were tracking the exact location of the deposed president, who may have abandoned the presidential residence, at a time when
Police source cited by South Korean public news agency Yonhap said that cannot “specifically reveal” Yoon Suk-yeo’s current locationl, who is believed to have been confined to the presidential residence in Seoul since mid-December, when he went through parliament, and the beginning of this week.
Since that time, said the same source, it has not been possible to confirm the leader’s whereabouts.
Yoon has been hiding in central Seoulin a mountainous complex that is now surrounded by bus barricades, barbed wire and presidential bodyguards, says the (NYT).
Police confirmed that Yoon was at the presidential residence on Friday, when several agents from the anti-corruption agency tried unsuccessfully to detain him after presidential security prevented access to the house.
According to the NYT, South Korean presidential security, the P.S.S., will be responsible for preventing Yoon’s capture. Like the Secret Service in the United States, the PSS protects sitting and former presidents.
When, on Friday, 100 investigators and police officers went to his residence, the security agency overtook them and prevented them from moving forward, questioning the legality of the document issued by the court.
The two sides then went back and forth during a five and a half hour standoff, until investigators abandoned efforts to arrest the deposed president.
The Democratic Party (PD), the main opposition political formation, spoke about a possible escape from Yoon on Tuesday, when the director of the anti-corruption agency, Oh Dong-won, told a parliamentary committee that he had not received any information that Yoon was at the residence.
Asked about a possible escape, Oh said that “Several possibilities are being considered.”
The pressure exerted by the PD led the police to try to confirm Yoon’s location.
“As far as we know, the president is at his official residence”, said, in turn, a representative of the presidential office, cited by Yonhap.
Also the lawyers of the deposed president deny escape. One of them, Yun Gap-keun, insisted that Yoon’s defense continues to refuse to accept an investigation based on what he once again called an invalid and illegal arrest warrant against the leader.
“What is clear is that if the Corruption Investigation Office [CIO] request the warrant [de detenção] to a Seoul Western District court, which is outside the jurisdiction, we cannot accept it,” Yun said, emphasizing that the power to judge Yoon’s alleged insurrection rests with the courts of Seoul Central District, the country’s main courts.
Yoon, who left the country, is being investigated for rebelliona crime that can be punished with life imprisonment or the death penalty, after having declared martial law on December 3rd.
If they manage to detain Yoon, investigators have 48 hours to interrogate him and even request a warrant to extend detention if they consider it necessary.
Meanwhile, the PD announced on Tuesday that it will present a complaint against the new interim presidentChoi Sang-mok, for alleged breach of duty with regard to the arrest of the former president.
According to the polls held in the country, the majority of the population wants Yoon to be deposed e taken.
A special PD commission made the announcement during a press conference at the National Assembly, criticizing Choi for allowing presidential security to block the entrance to the residence on Friday, preventing Yoon’s detention.
“According to reports, Acting President Choi remained silent even when the Corruption Investigation Bureau requested cooperation regarding the detention of President Yoon”, said the commission, in a statement released by Yonhap.
The party also criticized Choi for not taking any action against the head of presidential security, Park Chong-un, despite his involvement in blocking Yoon’s detention.
Choi, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister, has been at the head of the country since December 27, when parliament dismissed Han Duc-soowhich had Yoon as president.
Han was removed after declaring his intention to continue to vacate three Constitutional Court seats essential to confirming Yoon’s removal.
