South Korean investigators abandoned accused President Yoon Suk Yeol's official residence after a nearly six-hour standoff on Friday during which he challenged their attempt to detain him. It is the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state removed in less than a month.
The country's anti-graft agency said it recalled its investigators after the presidential security service prevented them from entering Yoon's residence for hours over concerns about his safety.
The agency said its outnumbered investigators had several confrontations with presidential security forces and expressed “great regret over the suspect's attitude, who did not comply with the legal process.”
He said detaining Yoon would be “virtually impossible” while he is protected by the presidential security service. The agency plans to “strongly demand” that the country's acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, instruct the service to comply with the execution of the detention order.
Outside the residence, a large group of pro-Yoon protesters braved freezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting slogans promising to protect him.
The National Police Agency said it planned to investigate the chief and deputy chiefs of the presidential security service on suspicion of obstruction of official duty and summoned them for questioning on Saturday.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, has resisted investigators' attempts to question him for weeks. He was last known to leave the residence on December 12, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, in which he defiantly stated that he will fight efforts to overthrow him.
Investigators with the country's anti-graft agency are weighing charges of rebellion after Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law on Dec. 3 and sent troops to surround the National Assembly.
Parliament annulled the declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on December 14, accusing him of rebellion, while South Korean anti-corruption authorities and prosecutors opened separate investigations into the events.
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A court in Seoul on Tuesday issued an order to detain Yoon and another order to search his residence, but enforcing them is difficult as long as he remains at his official residence.
Yoon's lawyers, who filed a challenge to the order on Thursday, say it cannot be enforced at his residence because of a law that protects places potentially linked to military secrets from searches without the consent of the person in charge.
The office said it would discuss further actions but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The arrest warrant is valid for one week.
Yoon's lawyers have also argued that the Corruption Investigation Bureau for High-ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military investigators, lacks the authority to investigate rebellion charges. They said police officers do not have the legal authority to help detain Yoon and could face arrest by the “presidential security service or any citizen.” They did not provide further details about the claim.
If investigators manage to detain Yoon, they will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.
During a briefing to reporters, an official from the anti-graft agency said its investigators were able to get within 200 meters (yards) of Yoon's residence, but were stopped by a roadblock composed of about 10 vehicles and approximately 200 members of the police. presidential security forces. and troops. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity per department rules, said three of his prosecutors were eventually allowed to approach the building but could not confirm whether Yoon was inside.
While the presidential security law requires protection for Yoon, it does not authorize the presidential security service to block court-ordered detentions, which would amount to a violation of judicial authority, said Park Seong-bae, a legal lawyer. penal. While the president largely has immunity from prosecution while in office, the protection does not extend to accusations of rebellion or treason.
“There is a high possibility that the act of blocking the execution of a detention order constitutes obstruction of official duty,” he said.
The law requiring the consent of the person in charge of searches in places with possible military secrets could continue to hinder Yoon's arrest. Courts often require law enforcement officials to obtain search warrants with arrest warrants in case they need to search the site to locate the suspect, which is also what the anti-graft agency did in its search for Yoon.
It is unlikely that approval could come from the country's acting leader, Choi, as it would be difficult to see him as the person in charge of Yoon's residence, Park said.
Park Chan-dae, parliamentary leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, called the anti-graft agency's withdrawal regrettable and urged the agency to make another attempt to detain Yoon on Friday.
Kwon Young-se, who heads the emergency leadership committee of Yoon's conservative People Power Party, called the agency's effort to detain Yoon “highly unfair and grossly inadequate,” saying there is no risk that Yoon will try flee or destroy evidence.
Thousands of police officers gathered at Yoon's residence on Friday, forming a perimeter around a growing group of pro-Yoon protesters who braved freezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting slogans promising to protect him. There were no immediate reports of major clashes outside the residence.
Yoon's defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested for their role in the martial law period.
Yoon's presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14. Yoon's fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to confirm the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. At least six judges of the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor of removing him from office.
The National Assembly voted last week to remove Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon's powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three vacancies on the Constitutional Court before the review. of Yoon's case by the court.
Facing mounting pressure, new acting President Choi appointed two new judges on Tuesday, potentially increasing the court's chances of upholding Yoon's impeachment.