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CIO withdraws attempt to arrest President Yoon

Published: 03 Jan. 2025, 14:01

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) leave the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, after failing to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) withdrew their attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, roughly five and half hours after attempting to execute a warrant to detain him.

The CIO said it halted the warrant execution at around 1:30 p.m. due to “concerns over the safety of personnel dispatched to the site,” as the standoff between its investigators and the Presidential Security Service continued.

The agency added that it would “review the next step” and expressed regret over Yoon’s refusal to “comply with legal procedures.”

The CIO stated in a press release that it had "begun executing an arrest warrant" for Yoon at 8:04 a.m. However, upon entering the residence, investigators were stopped by a military unit believed to be from the Capital Defense Command and were confronted by the Presidential Security Service.

The investigative team left CIO headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, at 6:14 a.m. and arrived at the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, at 7:21 a.m. They exited their vehicles and entered the barricade surrounding the residence, which opened at 8:02 a.m.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]