South Korean court extends arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol

One day after the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol issued by the Seoul Western District Court late last year expired, the agency extended the arrest warrant at the request of the Corruption Investigation Office of Senior Officials (CIO). ), according to the announcement from the CIO on January 7.

CIO investigators did not specify until what date the arrest warrant was extended. Yonhap Citing well-informed sources, this time the arrest warrant may be effective longer than the usual 7-day period, if the court considers additional challenges in the enforcement process.

About 100 CIO investigators along with police and prosecutors went to President Yoon’s residence in Yongsan District on January 3 to execute the arrest warrant. However, after nearly 6 hours of being prevented by guards and the Presidential Security Service (PSS), the CIO had to announce a postponement of the order to cool down tensions.

This is the first time in Korean history that a sitting president has faced an arrest warrant from a court. The CIO submitted a request to arrest Mr. Yoon on December 30, 2024 to investigate violations related to the martial law case considered “unconstitutional”, after the Korean President refused to appear for questioning three times.

After the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach President Yoon and forward the motion to the Constitutional Court for consideration, Mr. Yoon is having his presidential powers suspended. However, he is still protected by law and does not have to leave office.

PSS said that the arrest warrant targeting President Yoon was illegal and vowed to take legal action against state investigators, not accepting any “illegal intrusion” into the presidential palace. system.

The CIO earlier this week announced that it had asked the national police to take on the task of executing President Yoon’s arrest warrant, but this agency needs to consider additional legal angles.

CIO Director Oh Dong-woon in a hearing in the Korean parliament today admitted his error for not being able to arrest President Yoon. He affirmed that the CIO will prepare carefully for the next execution of the arrest warrant, declaring “will use every means” to complete the task.