Disagreement caused the bodyguards to let the police arrest the Korean President

The Korean Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) announced that President Yoon Suk-yeol was arrested at about 10:30 a.m. on January 15 at his residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul, ending The operation to execute the arrest warrant lasted many hours.

News agency Yonhap said that the Korean Presidential Security Service (PSS) “coordinated” with CIO investigators and police in the process of executing Mr. Yoon’s arrest warrant.

This is in contrast to what happened when authorities first executed the arrest warrant on January 3. About 200 PSS agents and soldiers from the 55th Security Brigade then set up a “human wall” to prevent investigators from approaching Mr. Yoon, causing the CIO to postpone the execution of the arrest warrant to reduce tension.

In the following days, PSS spread barbed wire and reinforced Mr. Yoon’s residence, turning it into a “fortress” to prevent the CIO from continuing to execute the second arrest warrant. Meanwhile, the CIO was determined to “catch” Mr. Yoon and had many meetings with the police to discuss plans to raid the mansion as well as neutralize the bodyguards, raising concerns about the risk of explosion. There was a clash between two armed security forces.

But contrary to initial predictions, when entering the Korean President’s residence this morning, police and CIO investigators did not encounter significant resistance from PSS. They in turn passed through three layers of bus barriers around Mr. Yoon’s residence without much difficulty.

Investigators and police set up ladders to climb over the bus in the first layer of barricades, before going around the second layer. They continued to pass the third layer by passing through the guard station next to the iron gate.

During this process, PSS agents did not appear to erect a “human wall” as when the police first executed the arrest warrant. They also did not try to stop investigators when law enforcement cut the barbed wire fence in the first layer of defense.

According to Yonhap, only a few PSS agents were present at the scene to negotiate with investigators. Most of the bodyguards remained in the waiting room at the mansion or were sent home to rest, taking no action to prevent the arrest.

There is information that the PSS leadership, including Deputy Director Kim Seong-hoon and guard commander Lee Kwang-woo, want to prevent the arrest of Mr. Yoon by any means, including force.

These two hard-line officials are said to have repeatedly asked their subordinates to strongly oppose the “illegal arrest order”, but did not receive a positive response from the units under their command. Only a few PSS guards supported the views of Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee.

“It is true that there are many internal opinions that this arrest warrant should not be blocked,” said an anonymous PSS official. “We have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our employees.”

An official from the South Korean Public Prosecution Service confirmed that investigators and police did not encounter severe obstacles from security personnel like the first time, adding that there were “almost no clashes” between the two forces. .

Observers believe that the arrest warrant for Mr. Yoon was carried out smoothly thanks to the “psychological blow” tactic that the police and investigators had previously implemented.

They applied this tactic after discovering internal divisions within the PSS team last week, thanks to investigating suspects such as former PSS director Park Chong-jun and Lee Jin-ha, the head agency’s security and safety department. The above two officials are said to be moderates in the PSS.

To exploit this internal disagreement, the investigation agency announced that it will be lenient with PSS employees who agree to cooperate when officials execute arrest warrants, and at the same time threatened to arrest those who obstruct. When CIO investigators entered the Korean Presidential Palace, they even put up a sign in front of the gate with the words: “If you prevent officials from performing their duties, you will be arrested like criminals.” .

Another reason why the process of executing the arrest warrant for President Yoon went smoothly was thanks to the actions of the 55th Security Brigade. This is a military unit, but under the command of the PSS under the Security Act. The President is not subject to mobilization from the Ministry of Defense.

However, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Lee Kyung-ho on January 14 confirmed that the 55th Brigade will not be deployed again to hinder the execution of the arrest warrant, adding that this agency has clearly informed its position to PSS. Under pressure from the Ministry of National Defense, PSS representatives confirmed that Brigade 55 would not be mobilized if investigators executed the second arrest warrant.

The biggest obstacle this time for law enforcement forces is the crowd demonstrating in support of Mr. Yoon in front of the mansion. Police and a group of protesters struggled and clashed at the gate area, causing at least one person to be injured due to a fall. However, this crowd held out for a long time in the cold weather and was not in sufficient numbers to overwhelm the police, when the arrest warrant was executed early in the morning.

After being arrested, Mr. Yoon was taken to the CIO office for questioning. The President of South Korea is facing a criminal investigation for accusations of plotting a rebellion when he issued martial law in early December 2024.

After completing the interrogation, President Yoon may be transferred to the Seoul Detention Center and detained for 48 hours. After the detention period expires, he can continue to be detained if the prosecutor applies for an arrest warrant on the morning of January 17.