Seoul:
Authorities tried to execute an arrest warrant for ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday when a crowd of protesters faced off with police outside his residence, vowing to block any attempt.
Yoon is under criminal investigation for insurrection over his short-lived attempt at martial law on December 3. An arrest would be unprecedented for a sitting South Korean president.
Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which heads a joint team of investigators including police and prosecutors, had arrived at the gate of Yoon’s complex shortly after 7 a.m. (10 p.m. GMT Thursday). , according to Reuters witnesses. .
Yonhap News Agency reported that about 3,000 police officers had been mobilized in preparation.
It was unclear whether the presidential security service, which has blocked investigators’ access to Yoon’s office and official residence with a search warrant, would try to stop the arrest.
According to media reports, the CIO vehicles did not immediately enter the compound.
Protesters gathered near his residence in the early morning hours, numbering in the hundreds amid media reports that investigating authorities would soon attempt to execute the arrest warrant that was approved on Tuesday after Yoon refused the call to to appear.
“We have to block them with our lives,” one person was heard saying to others. About a dozen protesters tried to block a group of police officers at the entrance to a pedestrian overpass.
Some chanted “President Yoon Suk Yeol will be protected by the people” and called for the arrest of the head of the CIO.
Pyeong In-su, 74, said police had to be stopped by “patriotic citizens,” a term Yoon used to describe those standing guard near his home.
Holding a United States-South Korea flag with the words “Let’s go Together” in English and Korean, Pyeong said he hoped new U.S. President Donald Trump would come to Yoon’s aid.
“I hope that after Trump’s inauguration he can use his influence to help get our country back on track,” he said.
Yoon sent shockwaves across the country on December 3 with a late-night announcement that he was imposing martial law to break the political deadlock and root out “anti-state forces.”
Within hours, however, 190 lawmakers had defied troop and police cordons by voting against Yoon’s order. About six hours after his original decree, Yoon revoked it.
He later defiantly defended his decision, saying domestic political opponents sympathize with North Korea and citing unconfirmed claims of election tampering.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not enjoy immunity.
Yoon’s lawyers have said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid because the CIO did not have the authority to apply for a warrant under South Korean law.
Yoon has been isolated since he was ousted and removed from power on December 14.
Regardless of the criminal investigation, his impeachment case is currently before the Constitutional Court to decide whether he will be reinstated or permanently removed. A second hearing in the case is scheduled for later Friday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)