Written by Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol has vowed to do whatever it takes to detain the impeached leader for breaking the security lockdown. The president faces a new and potentially more powerful attempt to arrest him.
Protesters supporting and opposing the embattled Yun braved subzero temperatures to rally on the streets around the presidential palace on Wednesday after a court reissued a warrant for his arrest on Tuesday. I did it.
The Presidential Security Service (PSS) this week fortified the compound with barbed wire and bus barricades to prevent access to the official residence, a hillside villa in the upscale neighborhood known as South Korea’s Beverly Hills. I am doing it.
Yun is under criminal investigation on suspicion of sedition for his failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3, but the decision shocked South Korea and led to the first arrest warrant being issued for a sitting president. It became.
He is also facing an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court.
On Wednesday, one of Yun’s lawyers said the president could not accept the execution of the arrest warrant because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and that the CIO had no right to investigate incumbent leaders. He said it was because he did not have the authority to do so.
Lawyer Yoon Gap-geun also denied the suggestion by some members that Yoon had fled the Prime Minister’s Office, saying that he met the President at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday. He said these were “malicious” rumors aimed at defaming Yun.
On Tuesday, Oh Dong-eun, director of the Office of the Corruption Investigation (CIO), which is leading the investigation into Yoon, apologized for not arresting the president after a six-hour standoff with hundreds of PSS last week. . agents and military security on the premises.
Minister Oh told a National Assembly committee, “With a strong determination that this warrant execution will be the last, we will make thorough preparations and do our best to achieve our goals.”
He declined to say how many days the court gave him before the new arrest warrant expires, saying plans for a new arrest warrant should remain in-house.
Mr. Oh did not object when lawmakers called for tough action to suppress presidential guards and troops on the premises, but there was no discussion of what options were being considered to achieve that. refused to do so.
Various scenarios reported by local media include the mobilization of police special tactical units and heavy equipment to break through the barricades, followed by more than 2,000 police to drag out the presidential guard and exhaust the presidential guard. It included a three-day wait if necessary.
Shin Yul, a professor at Myongji University who has followed the country’s political turmoil, said police likely have extensive experience with the tactical operations being considered.
“I believe the police will direct the entire execution, so they should be able to arrest Mr. Yun the second time,” he said.
But he said the safety of protesters in particular should be a top priority, noting the risk of gunfire in any potential clash.
In last week’s arrest attempt, the CIO and police were outnumbered by more than 200 PSS officers, some of whom were in possession of firearms, and some of whom were seconded to protect the president, CIO officials said. said.
