South Korea in political turmoil as impeached president resists arrest
South Korea’s anti-corruption investigators have failed to remove the impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol from his residence and arrest him, after they faced resistance from Yoon himself, his security team, the military and about a thousand of his supporters.
The East Asian country’s political scene was in complete disarray on Saturday after Yoon resisted an arrest warrant issued over his failed martial law decree in December 2024.
Yoon’s presidential guard, and military troops, shielded him from anti-corruption investigators. Furthermore, a large group of pro-Yoon protesters braved freezing temperatures for hours, waving South Korean and American flags, and chanting slogans vowing to protect him.
The investigators abandoned their arrest attempt over safety concerns. local media said.
Describing the situation as “dangerous”, an unnamed official from the investigation team said, “There was a standoff. While we estimated the personnel blocking us to be around 200, there could have been more.”
South Korea’s anti-corruption agency said its outnumbered investigators had several clashes with the presidential guard and expressed “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not comply with the legal process.”
According to the agency, Yoon’s arrest would be “virtually impossible” as long as he is protected by the presidential guard. The agency plans to “strongly demand” that the country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, instruct the guard to comply with their execution of the detainment warrant.
Yoon declared martial law last month and ordered the military to take over the National Council in order to end the political deadlock in the country.
Despite the military’s presence, South Korean lawmakers swiftly gathered in the National Assembly and overturned the martial law.
In the days that followed, the National Assembly stripped Yoon of his presidential powers, impeached him, and accused him of “rebellion.”
A Seoul court issued a warrant in order to detain Yoon and a separate warrant to search the presidential residence, but enforcing them is complicated as long as he remains in the building.
According to South Korea’s law, the country’s constitutional court has to make the final decision to uphold the impeachment or reinstate Yoon as president.
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