SEOUL – As South Korean authorities expanded After President Yoon Suk Yeol was detained on Sunday, his supporters stormed the courthouse that issued the arrest warrant, smashed windows with police shields and used fire hydrants to spray officers with water.
“Whether the communists die or I die, I will see this through to the end,” one shouted as he climbed over a wall.
Some called on the group to face the judge who issued the arrest warrant.
Police arrested at least 17 of the attackers, including one who streamed the mayhem on YouTube.
Yoon, who is being charged revolt After briefly declaring martial law in December, he has been in custody since Wednesday, initially by the police arresting He was arrested on a warrant for his arrest that allowed investigators to hold him for up to two days.
In issuing the latest arrest warrant, extending that period to a total of 20 days, the Seoul Western District Court cited the risk that Yoon could destroy evidence.
Yoon, South Korea's first sitting president to be arrested, has also been suspended from his presidential posts as the Constitutional Court decides whether to confirm his impeachment motion, which was approved by lawmakers in late December.
The liberal opposition party accused Yoon of encouraging the attack on the courts.
“The pro-insurgency forces rejected the constitutional order and tried to destroy the rule of law,” opposition party spokesman Kim Sung-hoi told reporters. “The leader of the uprising incited his followers and turned them into a violent mob.”
For Americans, the scene might be reminiscent of the Attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, by a group of supporters of then-President Trump, for which he was charged with incitement of insurrection.
Although Yoon, who was wildly unpopular for most of his time in office, lacked Trump's onstage appeal, recent events have made the oft-drawn parallels between the two even clearer.
Like Trump, Yoon did it often praised The media has been accused of “fake news” as he reportedly prefers to get much of his news from YouTube. And in the wake of his recent troubles, he has drummed up support by denouncing the country's democratic institutions.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, has rejected allegations of insurrection, arguing that this is the case Declaration of martial law — during which hundreds of special forces occupied the National Assembly — was intended only as a warning to an opposition-led legislature that he said was overrun by North Korea sympathizers.
He described the arrest warrants issued against him as illegal and thwarted an initial arrest attempt by barricading himself in the presidential district in central Seoul. At the same time, he claimed that the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau – the agency leading his case – lacks the legal legitimacy to investigate him.
Since his suspension, he has continued to promote the conspiracy theory that last year's general election, in which his political opponents won an overwhelming majority, was rife with fraud.
“The laws in this country have unfortunately fallen apart,” he said in a video statement released before his arrest on Wednesday. “It is regrettable to see that a court that does not have the power to review them issues arrest and search warrants, and that investigative agencies issue false documents to deceive the South Korean people.”
Such rhetoric has mobilized many of the anti-communists of South Korea's far right, some of them its most ardent supporters identify Your embattled leader with Trump set to take office again on Monday.
A common slogan seen on signs at pro-Yoon rallies is “Stop the Steal.” It references Yoon's claims of voter fraud and echoes the cries of Trump supporters on January 6th. Many Yoon supporters hope the new Trump administration will intervene in their election. They describe it as an unwarranted partisan attack on their leader and see some Republican officials in the United States as potential allies.
One of these personalities is the US representative. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills), a Korean American who represents California's 40th District and was recently appointed chairman of the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In a recent written interview with South Korea's largest conservative daily, the Chosun llbo, Kim did not criticize Yoon's decision to impose martial law, while repeating a claim that Yoon's supporters have often made to undermine the impeachment proceedings against him.
“Some supporters of President Yoon claim that China manipulated public sentiment and spread disinformation on social media during the impeachment protests. Although such claims remain unconfirmed, it would not be surprising. It’s completely plausible,” she said. “The forces behind the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol favor appeasement of North Korea and accommodation of China, which could lead to a major catastrophe for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.”
Pro-Yoon Lawmakers Invited to Trump Inauguration This week they say they plan to appeal to their conservative US colleagues.
“We will actively raise awareness of the country's political realities, including the opposition's incitement of insurrection and the impeachment motion against the president,” said Na Kyung-won, a lawmaker from Yoon's People Power Party.