South Korea: five minutes to understand why it is so complicated to arrest ousted president Yoon Suk-yeol

A first attempt which failed. Prosecutors and agents of the Senior Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) tried unsuccessfully on Friday to arrest Yoon Suk-yeol, the ousted South Korean president after his failed attempt to impose martial law on March 3. December. The investigators finally emerged from the presidential residence empty-handed, faced with hundreds of pro-Yoon Suk-yeol demonstrators massed outside.

Why did the police want to arrest Yoon Suk-yeol?

It all starts on December 3. That day, conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, officially in order to confront “North Korean communist forces”. The army was sent to Parliament which still managed to vote for the repeal of this martial law. Faced with the outcry caused by this decision, the South Korean Parliament voted ten days later to dismiss Yoon Suk-yeol.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo then became interim president… before being himself dismissed at the end of December because he was accused of having “actively participated in the insurrection”. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok then became interim head of state, a position he still holds.

In this context, the Office of Investigation into the Corruption of Senior Personalities (CIO) summoned Yoon Suk-yeol three times, targeted in particular by an investigation for “rebellion”, so that he could explain his power grab. . Summons all rejected by the deposed president who intends to “fight until the very end”. To force him to appear, an arrest warrant was issued on December 31 by a South Korean court.

Why couldn’t Yoon Suk-yeol be arrested?

Armed with this arrest warrant, 20 investigators and 80 police officers entered the presidential palace in Seoul this Friday where Yoon Suk-yeol is located. Except that on site the “balance of power” is clearly “unfavorable” to the IOC, points out Arnaud Leveau, professor of international affairs at Paris Dauphine University and member of the steering committee of the Asia Center research institute. Two hundred soldiers and agents of the presidential security services (PSS) are in fact present.

Especially since PSS leader Park Jong-joon was appointed to this position last September… by Yoon Suk-yeol. “It may well be that Yoon has staffed the organization with hard-liners in anticipation of precisely this eventuality,” lawyer Christopher Jumin Lee, a specialist on South Korea, told the BBC. During the operation the IOC described “minor and major physical altercations” and cited “serious security fears.” The decision was therefore made to turn back.

What can happen now?

In such political chaos, the situation therefore appears uncertain. In theory, investigators can try to arrest Yoon Suk-yeol again until Monday, January 6, when the arrest warrant expires. “And there will probably be nothing until then because American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected (Monday) in Korea,” notes Arnaud Leveau. After this date, if the deposed president still refuses to cooperate, the IOC may request “a renewal of the arrest warrant” for a period of seven days.

Another hypothesis, the Investigation Bureau could seek to obtain a formal arrest warrant generally issued when “a suspect refuses to cooperate with the investigation”, according to political commentator Park Sang-byung interviewed by AFP. This would theoretically allow Yoon Suk-yeol to be held captive for more than 48 hours. “And perhaps the means implemented to stop it would then be more substantial,” Arnaud Leveau also wants to believe.

For now, the IOC has limited itself to calling on interim President Choi Sang-mok to force the presidential guards to cooperate. “In practice, it is impossible to execute the arrest warrant as long as those responsible for security (…) continue their protection” fears this Bureau of Investigation. But for Shin Yul, professor of political science at Myongji University interviewed by AFP, it is “unlikely” that Choi Sang-mok would respond favorably to this request. For now, Yoon Suk-yeol remains suspended until the Constitutional Court validates or not his dismissal. His response is expected by mid-June.