South Korean police made another attempt this Tuesday (14) to execute an arrest warrant against President Yoon Suk Yeol, removed from office by Parliament after an impeachment process. As of 8:50 pm (Brasília time), he had not been arrested – but his defense lawyers were negotiating his surrender, according to the local press.
The politician’s supporters once again blocked security forces from entering the president’s official residence, in an attempt to prevent the arrest. In light of the riots, the head of the anti-corruption office responsible for the investigation, Oh Dong-woon, told the press that he would execute the warrant “whatever the cost” – authorities estimate that around 6,500 supporters went to the scene, facing just over 3,000 police officers.
The South Korean court approved Yoon’s arrest as part of the investigation against him for alleged insurrection – authorities are investigating whether the president committed this crime by declaring martial law and suspending the country’s political rights in an attempted self-coup in December.
The crime of insurrection is one of the few from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. The case could result in a life sentence or even the death penalty, although the country has not executed anyone since 1997.
Even though he is removed from office, Yoon is technically still president of South Korea until the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest judicial body, decides whether to approve or annul the decision of the National Assembly – therefore, he still lives in the official residence and has a security team at your disposal.
South Korean television footage shows police trying to push back a crowd of supporters and access the property through the front and back doors. Yoon hasn’t left the official residence in weeks and has surrounded himself with security guards. The dismissed president’s defense says that the arrest order is illegal and aims to politically humiliate him.
Among the supporters obstructing the work of the police are parliamentarians from Yoon’s party and his own defense lawyers. In addition, members of the president’s security team used vehicles to set up a series of barricades and prevent access to the residence – the police arrested the head of the presidential guard, Kim Sung-hoon, on Tuesday for preventing the execution of the warrant.
On the 3rd, the police and authorities investigating the case tried to arrest Yoon, without success. After a tense six-hour standoff, the agents gave up executing the warrant due to resistance from the presidential guards.
On the 7th, the Court issued a new arrest warrant. The justification for the order is Yoon’s refusal to testify and collaborate with the investigation – the president missed interrogations several times.
Authorities warned Yoon’s supporters gathered outside the official residence that resisting police could result in arrests and charges, but they continued to shout slogans and display signs.
Most of the messages made reference to the conspiracy theory spread by the president that the 2024 elections, in which the ruling party became a minority in the National Assembly, were rigged – there is no evidence to that effect.
Still, the alleged fraud was one of the reasons used by Yoon to justify the attempted self-coup last December, when the president tried to use the Armed Forces to close Parliament and started the most serious political crisis in the Asian country in decades.
This Tuesday, Yoon missed a hearing at the Constitutional Court that is judging his impeachment for the second time. The president’s lawyers say the anti-corruption office’s attempts to arrest him prevent him from defending himself in the case that determines whether he will be removed from office.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday (16). Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae stated that if Yoon also does not appear before her, the process will continue with his lawyers representing him.
Outside the court, one of those lawyers, Yoon Kab-keun, said the ousted president will decide whether or not to attend the hearing after discussions about his defense strategy.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or restore his presidential powers.
