Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials are on standby outside President Yoon Suk-yeol's official residence in Seoul on Jan 3. -Yonhap
SEOUL: President Yoon Suk Yeol called the attempt to detain him on charges of insurrection and power abuse illegal, as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials tried to execute an arrest warrant against him at his residence in Seoul on Friday (Jan 3) morning.
Yoon, for whom a Seoul court issued an arrest warrant on Dec 31, claimed via his legal representatives that the arrest warrant is illegal and should be nullified. He vowed to take legal action against what he said was an unlawful arrest.
The CIO had sent notification of the warrant to Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-seok, warning the presidential security team not to interfere with the imminent arrest. Chung, however, said that the CIO does not have the authority to command the Presidential Security Service.
If Yoon is detained, it would mark the first time in the country's history that a sitting president has ever been arrested. In Korea, legal immunity for a president does not include charges of insurrection.
As authorities seek to take Yoon into custody, avid supporters of Yoon have been holding rallies in his support and defiance of the ongoing arrest attempt.
An unconfirmed number of supporters started gathering near the president's official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, at around 7am, shouting "Impeachment (for Yoon) is invalid!" and "Protect Yoon!" Some were seen shouting "Traitors!" at dozens of CIO investigators making their way into the residence.
The CIO investigators arrived at Yoon's home at around 7.20am and entered at around 8:03am, but have since been in a standoff with an unconfirmed body of troops.
Police told local media that the troops are presumed to be members of the Capital Defense Command, who are entrusted with guarding the perimeters of the presidential residence under direct orders from the Presidential Security Service.
As of around 10am, the investigators got past the soldiers and are currently on standoff with the Presidential Security Service. They have presented the arrest warrant to the security team, but the presidential bodyguards refused to allow search of the residence.
If Yoon is detained, the investigators have 48 hours to request a warrant for his arrest or release him.
In addition to the ongoing criminal investigation, the president is also undergoing impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court for the insurrection and power abuse charges. - The Korea Herald/ANN
