Court approves arrest warrant for Yoon, first in Korean history

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Court approves arrest warrant for Yoon, first in Korean history

Published: 31 Dec. 2024, 17:29 Updated: 03 Jan. 2025, 13:10

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Police officers guard a security barrier outside President Yoon Suk Yeol's official residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, after a court approved a warrant for his arrest on Dec. 31. [KIM JONG-HO]

The Seoul Western District Court approved a warrant to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday over his imposition of martial law in early December, making him the first incumbent president to face arrest.

The warrant, which was requested by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) a day earlier, charges Yoon with masterminding the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, plotting an insurrection and abusing his authority as president.

The court also approved a search warrant for Yoon’s official residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, as part of the CIO-led investigation into allegations that the president attempted to replace the country’s democratic order with military rule.

The CIO requested the warrants after Yoon failed to respond to three summonses to appear at the agency’s headquarters for questioning regarding his role in declaring martial law.

The CIO is expected to execute the arrest warrant soon as it is due to expire on Jan. 6, though an agency official declined to specify when it might move to take the president into custody.

The court’s decision to approve the arrest warrant suggests it acknowledges there are substantial grounds to suspect that Yoon had committed criminal acts in the process of declaring martial law, according to the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

During Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law, police and soldiers were deployed to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from holding a vote to overturn his decree. The martial law command also allegedly drew up plans to detain prominent politicians and officials of the National Election Commission without warrants.

By approving the CIO’s warrant, the court appears to have accepted the agency’s argument that it could not investigate Yoon without taking him into custody given his repeated failure to appear for questioning on Dec. 18, 25 and 29.

The president not only declined to accept CIO summonses posted by mail but also did not submit details of his legal defense team or explanations for his non-attendance as required by law.

Yoon relayed information regarding his legal representation only after the CIO filed its warrant application.

Lawyers who previously spoke to the media on Yoon’s behalf disputed the CIO’s authority to file arrest warrants on charges of insurrection and treason and claimed that the agency had failed to make arrangements for Yoon’s ability to attend questioning safely.

They also argued that sitting presidents should face criminal investigation only if their impeachment has been upheld by the Constitutional Court.

However, the court’s decision to issue the CIO’s warrant appears to have settled any questions about the legitimacy of the agency’s investigation.

In response to the issuance of the arrest warrant, the Presidential Security Service said it would organize measures to ensure Yoon’s security while allowing the arrest warrant to be implemented in line with proper procedure.

The service had previously refused to allow investigators from the CIO-led joint task force to search the presidential office or Yoon’s official residence for documents tied to his declaration of martial law.

By law, even officials from the prosecution, police and other investigative agencies seeking entry to facilities related to national security need to receive approval from the relevant authorities.

The presidential security service also refused to accept the CIO’s summonses or documents from the Constitutional Court on Yoon’s behalf.

According to the CIO official, the president is likely to be escorted to the agency’s headquarters in Gwacheon, which is located just south of Seoul, or a police precinct near his residence before being held at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi.

The arrest warrant was issued the same day that officials from the presidential office visited a public funerary altar to commemorate victims of Sunday’s fatal Jeju Air plane crash in Muan, South Jeolla.

Presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk, third from left, and other officials from the presidential office pay their respects to victims of the Jeju Air plane crash at a public funerary altar set up outside Seoul City Hall in Jung District, central Seoul, on Dec. 31. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Their visit to the altar set up in front of the Seoul City Hall marked the first public engagement by presidential officials since Yoon’s impeachment.

Led by presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk and National Security Office chief Shin Won-shik, the presidential office delegation paid their respects at the altar before being accompanied away by Kim Byeong-min, the city’s deputy mayor for political affairs.

Though its public activities have been limited since Yoon’s suspension from office, the presidential office said Sunday it is operating a round-the-clock contingency response team in cooperation with the National Security Office (NSO) that reports to acting President Choi Sang-mok.

However, Chung faces mounting pressure from investigators to appear for questioning regarding his own role in the martial law episode.

Both he and Shin not only attended the Dec. 3 Cabinet meeting where Yoon announced his plan to declare martial law but also allegedly met the president in the basement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters after the National Assembly voted to lift his decree.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG AND MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]