South Korean president defies arrest in standoff with officers over martial regulation order

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean authorities tried and failed Friday to hold out an unprecedented arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched attempt to declare martial law in a dramatic standoff on the presidential residence the place Yoon has been staying since he was impeached final month.

Investigators and law enforcement officials started leaving Yoon’s official residence in central Seoul round 1:30 p.m. native time (11:30 p.m. Thursday ET), greater than 5 hours after they first handed by means of the metal gates.

They mentioned they’d suspended the execution of the arrest warrant for the day “as a result of we have now concluded that it’s not possible to execute it at the moment,” citing security considerations as they have been blocked by Yoon’s presidential safety element.

“It is to our excessive remorse that the suspect didn’t reply to the authorized proceedings,” a joint crew of investigators mentioned in a press release.

The warrant, which Yoon’s attorneys say is illegitimate, doesn’t expire till Monday and officers may attempt to execute it once more earlier than then.

They are in search of to detain Yoon for questioning on doable fees of rebel, one of many few crimes for which South Korean presidents shouldn’t have immunity. Officials would then have to use for a separate courtroom warrant as a way to formally indict and proceed to carry him.

Thousands of law enforcement officials arrived on the compound on Friday, a month to the day after Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law.

In addition to Yoon’s safety element, they confronted a rising crowd of Yoon’s conservative supporters outdoors the residence who have been making an attempt to type a “human protect” to guard him from arrest, a few of whom waved American flags in a present of assist for the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

Officials mentioned Yoon’s arrest warrant had been served to the presidential safety chief, Park Jong-joon, at 10:11 a.m. Friday.

The Presidential Security Service, which has additionally blocked investigators from looking out Yoon’s workplace and residence in latest weeks, advised NBC News that it was required by regulation to guard the president, together with from anybody coming into the premises to execute warrants.

South Korea’s Joint Investigation Headquarters mentioned Friday afternoon that Park had been summoned “over obstruction of particular official duties.”

The essential opposition Democratic Party criticized the actions of the presidential safety element and mentioned Choi Sang-mok, South Korea’s second appearing president since Yoon’s impeachment on Dec. 14, ought to take “decisive motion” to make sure Yoon’s arrest.

Though Yoon, 64, is just not the primary South Korean president to be impeached, he could be the East Asian democracy’s first sitting president to be arrested. He has been suspended from presidential duties since his impeachment pending a Constitutional Court trial to find out whether or not it needs to be upheld.

Yoon’s attorneys mentioned Friday that he’s “able to abide by the regulation so long as it’s the rightful due technique of regulation.”

They have challenged the warrant issued Tuesday to arrest Yoon and search the presidential workplace and residence, saying the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which is main the joint investigation crew, doesn’t have complete command authority over the police.

“Legal actions will probably be taken in opposition to any illegal circumstances arising in the course of the execution of this unlawful warrant,” certainly one of Yoon’s attorneys, Yoon Kap-geun, mentioned by textual content message Friday.

Yoon, who took workplace in 2022 for a single five-year time period, has struggled to advance his legislative agenda in opposition to the opposition-controlled parliament.

In a surprise late-night address on Dec. 3, he accused “anti-state forces” of paralyzing the federal government and sympathizing with communist North Korea and declared emergency martial regulation, which included a ban on all political exercise.

He lifted the order about six hours later after lawmakers voted unanimously to reject it.

Though Yoon has apologized for the martial regulation declaration, he has repeatedly defied summonses to appear for questioning within the legal investigation, saying it was inside his energy as president to challenge the order, South Korea’s first since 1980.

The episode has deeply shaken South Korea, which has a long history of military-authoritarian rule however has since transitioned into certainly one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies and the world’s Tenth-largest economic system.

A Gallup Korea poll launched Dec. 13 discovered Yoon had an approval score of 11%, down from 19% earlier than the martial regulation declaration.

Yoon nonetheless has some supporters, nevertheless, 1000’s of whom have gathered outdoors the presidential residence in latest days. Some waving American flags argued that Yoon and his conservative People Power Party are extra supportive of the U.S. alliance than the liberal Democratic Party, which they accused of being friendlier towards China and North Korea.

Others held indicators adopting a slogan related to President-elect Donald Trump‘s false claims of election fraud in 2020, “Stop the Steal.”

Gang Sung-min mentioned Yoon shouldn’t be arrested and that he was protesting “to ensure it doesn’t occur.”

“These actions have been carried out as an overreach from the beginning, and the investigations have been initiated unlawfully,” Gang, who’s in his 20s, mentioned Friday. “So I imagine that the folks can step in to dam such unlawful acts.”

In a letter to the protesters late Wednesday, Yoon mentioned he had been watching their efforts through YouTube.

“Thank you a lot and I really feel unhappy,” he wrote, including that he frightened for his or her well being within the bitterly chilly climate.

Yoon, who was as soon as the nation’s chief prosecutor, mentioned South Korea was in “hazard” due to efforts by “anti-state forces” inside and out of doors the nation “to steal the sovereignty of this nation.”

“I’ll combat till the top standing with you to guard our nation,” he mentioned. “Our nation belongs to every particular person in South Korea and never a authorities or a celebration.”

The Democratic Party mentioned Yoon’s message to supporters was “extremely inappropriate” and “demonstrates that he stays trapped in his delusions.”

“Most regarding is his incitement of utmost battle and chaos amongst his supporters by means of this message,” Cho Seung-rae, the social gathering’s chief spokesperson, mentioned Thursday. “As if orchestrating a revolt was not sufficient, he’s now stirring his followers to impress excessive clashes and dysfunction.”

State media in North Korea, which technically stays at warfare with the South, mentioned Friday that the disaster in South Korea had resulted in “paralysis of its state administration and spiraling socio-political confusion.”

The Constitutional Court has 180 days to determine whether or not to verify Yoon’s impeachment, and a second listening to was held Friday. If Yoon is faraway from workplace, a presidential by-election should be held inside 60 days.

While Prime Minister Han Duck-soo initially turned appearing president, he was within the job for lower than two weeks earlier than he was also impeached on Dec. 27 after he refused to right away appoint three justices to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court.

Choi, the previous deputy prime minister and minister of economic system and finance, turned the brand new appearing president two days earlier than a Jeju Air plane crashed within the southwest metropolis of Muan, killing 179 of the 181 folks on board on the earth’s deadliest aviation catastrophe of 2024.

Stella Kim, Steve Patterson, Stephanie Fuerte and Beomsu Jo reported from Seoul and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.