South Korea's Public Prosecutor's Office announced a suspension of the arrest of President Yoon Seok-yeol, which may cause drama to continue in Seoul
Early Friday morning (January 3), the South Korean Senior Public Officials Crime Investigation Office (SPIC) arrived at the presidential residence in downtown Seoul to execute an arrest warrant against President Yoon Seok-yeol.
However, after a morning standoff between investigators and soldiers and presidential guard personnel in the official residence, the Public Prosecutions Office announced at noon that it would suspend the execution of the arrest warrant.
Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly for briefly declaring martial law on December 3 and is currently suspended from office. Earlier this week, a Seoul court issued an arrest warrant accusing Yoon of abuse of power and inciting rebellion.
This is the first time in South Korea's constitutional history that an arrest warrant has been issued for a sitting president.
According to Yonhap News Agency, 30 members of the Public Prosecutions Office investigation team and 120 police investigators arrived at the presidential residence at 7:21 a.m. local time and confronted military personnel inside the residence.
Yoon Seok-yeol's lawyer issued a statement saying that the arrest warrant was illegal and that legal action would be taken, but did not provide further details.
Many supporters of Yoon Seok-yeol gathered and protested outside the official residence, trying to prevent the arrest.
Political chaos after brief martial law
South Korea has been in political turmoil since Yoon Seok-yeol briefly declared martial law on December 3.
After days of protests around the clock, the opposition-dominated National Assembly passed a motion to impeach Yoon on December 14, marking their second attempt to impeach him. The previous impeachment attempt a week earlier failed because it did not receive enough votes from Yoon's ruling People Power Party.
Yoon has been suspended from his presidential duties since the impeachment, but he has remained steadfast, defending his decision to declare martial law and refusing to answer multiple summonses from investigators over the past two weeks.
Earlier this week, a Seoul court approved the Public Prosecutor's Office's application for an arrest warrant against Yoon Seok-yeol on Tuesday (December 31) and issued an arrest warrant valid until January 6. Yoon Seok-yeol's legal team said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid.
BBC Seoul correspondent Jean Mackenzie observed on the scene that police had blocked the sidewalk leading to the presidential residence and there were dozens of police cars parked at the scene.
According to local media reports, at around 9 a.m., the Public Prosecutor's Office had broken through a military unit inside the presidential residence but was being blocked by the presidential residence security service, which had previously blocked several raids on Yoon Seok-yeol's office and residence.
After a standoff that lasted about six hours for about a morning, the Public Prosecutor's Office said that due to the continued standoff, the execution of the arrest warrant was suspended at 1:30 p.m. local time. The Public Prosecutor's Office expressed deep regret for Yoon Seok-yeol's attitude, and then the investigators and police also left the scene.
Outside the presidential residence, police, Yoon Seok-yeol supporters, and the media all gathered at the scene. The tense atmosphere continued to escalate and the protesters were emotional. They shouted Yoon Seok-yeol's name at the scene to express their support for the suspended president.
According to Yonhap News Agency, thousands of Yoon Seok-yeol supporters gathered outside the presidential residence yesterday (2nd) in an attempt to prevent investigators from entering. About 30 of them broke through the police line and successfully protested outside the entrance of the presidential residence. After the court issued an arrest warrant, Yoon Seok-yeol issued a strong statement to his supporters the next day, warning that the country is currently in danger and that he will fight to the end to protect the people and the country.
After the Public Prosecutor's Office announced the suspension of the arrest warrant, Yoon Seok-yeol's supporters cheered and said they had "won."
Responses
According to South Korean media reports, the opposition party, which controls a majority in parliament, called on Yoon Seok-yeol's security personnel to cooperate with the arrest.
“Anyone who obstructs the execution of the arrest warrant will be punished for obstructing special public duties and conspiracy to rebel,” warned Park Chan-dae, a parliamentary representative from South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, the leader of Yoon Seok-yeol's People Power Party asked police investigators to avoid any "unreasonable actions to arrest a sitting president."
Although Yoon has been suspended and stripped of his powers, he remains protected by the Presidential Security Service, a military unit responsible for protecting the city of Seoul, including the presidential residence and residence.
Now, questions are being asked: Should the security guards be allowed to stop law enforcement from executing a legitimate arrest warrant? And does Acting President Choi Sang-mok have enough authority to order them to lay down their arms and cooperate?
Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean special forces commander, told the BBC the arrest team might try to negotiate to get closer to Yoon.
"It's a very difficult situation for everyone," he told Newsday. "The Secret Service has a very clear mandate, but at the same time, they know in their hearts that this is not legal."
“I just hope there’s no violence.”
Sydney Seiler, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, also pointed out on the show that although the tension outside the president's residence shocked the global audience, "there is still good reason to be optimistic that this matter can be resolved without the use of force."
However, he added: "President Yoon Seok-yeol will not give in easily."
Investigators said they needed time to review and decide their next steps.
The arrest warrant issued by the court will expire after next Monday (January 6), which means that the Public Prosecutor's Office may continue to try to arrest Yoon Seok-yeol this weekend. However, with more supporters gathering, the arrest may become more difficult.
However, the investigating authorities can still apply to the court for a new arrest warrant and detain him.
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