The South Korean authorities have been trying to arrest the dismissed president Yoon Suk-yeol since early this Wednesday, in what is supposed to be against the president for imposing martial law for a few hours that has plunged Asian democracy into one of its worst institutional crises in decades. At this time, according to the South Korean agency Yonhap, members of the Office of Investigation of Corruption of Senior Officials (OICAF) are inside the presidential compound and are talking with the president’s entourage to coordinate how the president will be detained and transferred to interrogate him about his short-lived imposition of military control of the country.
The talks began about four hours after police and OICAF officials began their second attempt to execute search warrants for the presidential residence and arrest Yoon: authorities were forced to abort the operation after that the presidential security service, made up of soldiers and officials, prevented them from entering the official premises: nearly 200 guards formed a human wall that blocked the entrance, confirming the clash between agencies and powers of the State.
”At this time, we are not considering his voluntary appearance and our objective is to execute the order,” an OICAF official told the press, according to Yonhap. “Unlike what happened during the first attempt, there were no personnel or members of the Presidential Security Service who actively resisted the execution,” the official added. “There were virtually no physical confrontations today.”
Investigators used ladders to enter the presidential residence complex, located in central Seoul, after being blocked by the PSS, which erected a barricade with vehicles near the entrance. They were also blocked from entering by a group of legislators from the ruling People’s Power Party and Yoon’s lawyers. Some researchers have also attempted to access the site via a nearby hiking trail.
When local media reported that Yoon’s arrest could occur soon, some minor altercations broke out in the vicinity of the residence between tearful protesters who were there to show their support for the leader and the police near the residence. residence, according to Reuters.
Yoon, provisionally suspended from his duties after , is accused of insurrection for trying to impose martial law on December 3. The conservative leader has been locked up for weeks in official quarters surrounded by a crowd of supporters who defy the freezing temperatures of the Asian country: currently, about 6,500 supporters of the ousted president. Police have deployed about 3,000 troops to secure access to the compound, and physical clashes have occurred between investigators and Yoon’s supporters.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court began on Tuesday the trial in which the conservative leader remains cloistered in the official residence, surrounded in recent days by a crowd of supporters who defy the freezing temperatures of the Asian country.
In the images released by the media this Wednesday, hundreds of police officers can be seen, some carrying ladders and bolt cutters, entering the road that gives access to the villa where the president resides, and where he has been guarded by a small group. of security personnel at your service.
He believes that the OICAF is not a competent body to investigate the charges of which he is accused. The aforementioned office, on the contrary, maintains that Yoon did not respond to its repeated requests to appear for questioning and that it has sufficient reasons to issue the order.
“This is not a fair application of the law,” said Yun Gap-geun, one of the lawyers, who described the attempted arrest as “illegal.” Police are also trying to arrest the deputy head of the presidential security team, Kim Seong-hoon, acting head of the service, for allegedly obstructing investigators from detaining Yoon. Police have circulated messages warning that any attempt to resist the execution of the orders could lead to arrest.
The orders against Yoon have been issued by the Seoul Western District Court after the ousted president ignored three summons to appear for questioning over his failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3. The orders, which were extended last week after expiring, are valid until January 21.
