Accusing a sitting president of wrongdoing is no simple task, but in South Korea it can be even more difficult due to the large number of law enforcement agencies involved.
President Yoon Sul Yeol has already joined the ranks of South Korean presidents impeached by Parliament as a result of his ill-fated decision to declare martial law in early December. But as a court weighs whether to uphold that impeachment and remove him from power for good, he also faces criminal investigations for insurrection on several fronts.
This is the first time South Korean officials have sought to arrest a sitting president. (Mr. Yoon has been suspended and locked up in his residence, but he is technically still in office.) Investigators are negotiating uncharted territory, and the investigating agencies risk prolonging the country’s political unrest if they do not find a way to cooperate.
And then there is the agency that is obligated to protect him.
Here is a guide to the playground.
Experts estimate that the Constitutional Court’s decision could be delivered as early as February. The court faces enormous public pressure to move quickly to help resolve the country’s current political vacuum.
None of the court’s decisions will affect Mr. Yoon’s standing in any criminal proceedings, and the court can proceed with or without his presence. But some believe Mr. Yoon’s lawyers hope that if the court reinstates him, it will be more difficult for investigators to charge him.
The Corruption Investigation Bureau launched a much-anticipated second operation to arrest Mr. Yoon on Wednesday morning, two days after asking security officials not to intervene. In making this request, the office in turn threatened their government pensions and promised that they would face no consequences if they defied the “illegal orders” of their superiors – including the president of South Korea.
Photo by Chang W. Lee/The New York Times