South Korean protesters brave cold to demand Yoon’s departure: NPR

SEOUL, South Korea — Hundreds of South Koreans, bundled up against the cold and snow, gathered overnight Sunday near the residence of deposed President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for his ouster and arrest , as authorities prepare to renew their efforts to stop him. his short-lived decree of martial law.

Dozens of anti-graft agency investigators and police tried to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon on Friday, but withdrew from his residence in Seoul after a tense standoff with presidential security officials that lasted more than five hours.

The one-week arrest warrant for him is valid until Monday. There was no immediate indication that anti-corruption authorities were prepared to send investigators back to the residence on Sunday afternoon. Members of the Presidential Security Service were seen installing barbed wire near the gate and along the hills leading to Yoon’s residence over the weekend, likely in preparation for another arrest attempt.

A Seoul court last Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for Yoon and a separate warrant to search his residence after the embattled president repeatedly defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning and obstructing searches in his office. But enforcing them is complicated as long as Yoon remains in his official residence.

Investigators with the country’s anti-corruption agency are weighing rebellion charges after the conservative president, apparently frustrated that his policies were being blocked by a legislature dominated by the liberal opposition, declared martial law on Dec. 3 and sent troops to surround the National Assembly.

The Assembly overturned the declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on December 14, charging him with rebellion, while South Korean anti-corruption authorities and prosecutors opened separate investigations into the events.

If the anti-corruption agency manages to arrest Yoon, it will likely ask the court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, Yoon will be released after 48 hours.

The Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau, which is conducting a joint investigation with police and military investigators, says Yoon’s arrest would be “virtually impossible” while he is protected by presidential security services. The agency urged the country’s acting leader, Vice Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to ask the department to comply with the execution of the arrest warrant, but Choi has not yet publicly commented on the matter .

The heads and deputy heads of the presidential security service on Saturday defied police summons, which planned to question them for alleged obstruction of the exercise of their official duties following Friday’s events.

Yoon’s legal team said it would file charges against the anti-graft agency’s chief prosecutor, Oh Dong-woon, and about 150 investigators and police officers involved in Friday’s attempted arrest, which he said they consider it illegal. The team said it would also file a complaint with prosecutors against the country’s acting defense minister and police chief for ignoring the presidential security service’s request to provide additional forces to block the attempt. of arrest.

Yoon’s lawyers had filed an objection to the arrest warrants against the president on Thursday, but the Seoul Western District Court rejected the challenge on Sunday.

Park Chan-dae, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, called on the anti-corruption agency to act quickly to arrest Yoon, saying it was deeply disappointing to see the agency “hesitating and letting time s ‘flow’.

Hundreds of anti-Yoon protesters gathered for hours near the gates of the presidential residence from Saturday evening to Sunday, expressing frustration over the failed arrest attempt and demanding more intense efforts to place Yoon in detention. Separated by police barricades and buses, pro-Yoon protesters gathered in nearby streets, denouncing his impeachment and vowing to block any attempt to arrest him.

“Just one day before the deadline for executing Yoon Seok Yeol’s arrest warrant, the Presidential Security Service continues to hide a criminal and the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau cannot be more relaxed “said Kim Eun-jeong, an activist. said on stage at the anti-Yoon rally.

“Angry citizens have already spent two freezing nights demanding his immediate detention. Are their voices not being heard?”

Yoon’s lawyers have challenged the detention and search warrants against the president, saying they cannot be executed at his residence because of a law that protects places potentially linked to military secrets from searches without consent of the person responsible – which would be Yoon. They also argue that the anti-corruption bureau does not have the legal authority to investigate the rebellion charges and that police officers do not have the legal authority to help arrest Yoon.

Although the Presidential Security Law requires Yoon’s protection, it does not authorize presidential security services to block court-ordered detentions. The department’s attempts to block the execution of the warrant may amount to obstruction of official duties, according to Park Sung-bae, a lawyer specializing in criminal law. Although the president generally enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office, this protection does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.

The agency said its outnumbered investigators had several scuffles with presidential security forces who threatened their safety and expressed “serious regret” that Yoon did not comply with legal proceedings.

After bypassing a military unit guarding the residence compound, the agency’s investigators and police were able to approach within 200 meters of Yoon’s residential building but were stopped by a barricade consisting of around ten vehicles and around 200 members of the presidential security forces and troops. The agency said it was unable to visually confirm whether Yoon was inside the residence.

The Defense Ministry says troops stationed at Yoon’s official residence are under the control of the presidential security services. Kim Seon-ho, the acting defense minister, expressed his concerns to the presidential security services, saying that deploying military personnel to block the execution of the arrest warrant would be “inappropriate” and asking that the Troops are not placed in a position where they could confront police, according to the ministry.

Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested for their roles during the martial law period.

Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended since the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14. Yoon’s fate now rests in the hands of the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.