South Korea: investigators fail to arrest ousted President Yoon

For nearly six hours, prosecutors and agents from the Senior Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is centralizing the investigation into “rebellion” opened against ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt to imposing martial law on December 3, remained inside the presidential residence, on the heights of the upscale Hannam district of Seoul. But they were prevented from arresting Yoon Suk Yeol by presidential bodyguards outnumbering them twice as much. They ended up leaving the residence around 1:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. GMT), empty-handed.

Around 20 IOC investigators assisted by 80 police officers took part in the operation, but came up against some 200 soldiers and agents of the presidential security service, who formed a human wall holding each other’s arms to prevent them from passing through, explained an IOC official. The president’s security forces had previously blocked the access route using around ten minibuses and other vehicles, but investigators still managed to enter the property “by taking a circuitous path at hillside,” added this official during a press briefing.

“There were minor and major physical altercations” between the two camps, he continued, specifying that no member of his team had seen Yoon Suk Yeol during the raid. “Forcing passage was not realistically possible, as the number of people gathered there was significantly greater than our team,” he added. “Due to serious security concerns, the execution has been suspended.”

An illegal arrest warrant according to Yoon’s lawyers

Why such resistance? According to Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyers, the police had no right to intervene in the presidential residence, which was classified as a “secret defense installation”. “We express our deep regret over the illegal and invalid execution of the arrest and search warrants,” said one of the lawyers, Yoon Kab-keun. Furthermore, Yoon Suk Yeol, for the time being, officially remains the head of state. He is only suspended pending confirmation by the Constitutional Court of his dismissal by mid-June. Such an arrest would be unprecedented in South Korean history.

However, lawyers found the resistance of his bodyguards worrying. “The president is equal to all before the law. The fact that he did not comply with a legally issued court order is truly lamentable,” said Lee Jong-soo, a law professor at Yonsei University.

Yoon Suk Yeol always supported

Hundreds of Yoon Suk Yeol’s supporters, including well-known far-right YouTubers and evangelical Christian preachers, have gathered near the presidential residence since Thursday evening. “Yoon Suk Yeol!” Yoon Suk Yeol! », They chanted while waving red light sticks, under the surveillance of the police. “We are gathered here today, ready to risk our lives,” said Lee Hye-sook, 57, accusing the opposition of wanting to “transform our country into a socialist state similar to North Korea”.

Yoon Suk Yeol stunned South Korea on the night of December 3 to 4 by imposing martial law and sending the army to Parliament to try to muzzle him, an episode that reminded the country of the dark hours of the military dictatorship . He was forced to backtrack hours later after MPs managed to enter parliament and pass a motion demanding the lifting of martial law while thousands of protesters gathered outside.

The 64-year-old former star prosecutor has shown no regrets since his dismissal by Parliament on December 14, even vowing in a letter to his supporters to “fight until the end”. “It’s been a month since the country became a complete wreck due to the illegal declaration of martial law on December 3, but Yoon Suk Yeol’s message to his supporters shows that he has not the slightest sense of remorse or responsibility,” said this Friday in an editorial in the major daily Dong-A Ilbo which added: “The behavior of President Yoon, who relies on his most extremist supporters, is more than embarrassing. It is reaching deplorable levels.”

North Korea, until now stingy with comments on the political crisis in its enemy to the South, described Friday through its official media a situation of “social and political chaos” in Seoul.