South Korean authorities to execute an arrest warrant at President Yoon’s residence in Reuters

By Hyunsoo Yim and Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean officials investigating impeached President Yun Suk-yeol gathered outside his residence on December 3 in what appeared to be a fresh attempt to arrest him on sedition charges stemming from his declaration of martial law.

The video footage shows vehicles from investigative authorities in front of Yeon’s hilltop villa in Seoul, which has been under lockdown for weeks.

Investigators were barred from serving an arrest warrant for South Korea’s first sitting president in January following a standoff with 3 percent of the president’s security agents and military guards.

About 6,500 supporters of Yun gathered at his residence on Wednesday, with some ruling party lawmakers forming a human chain to prevent the arrest warrant from being carried out, Yonhap news agency reported.

Pro-Yun protesters were chanting and waving light sticks, a Reuters witness said, as police buses blocked roads near the residence’s main gate, preventing other vehicles from entering.

Yoon’s lawyer Yoon Kab-kun was seen holding papers, as well as black-uniformed officials in front of Yoon’s compound, talking to investigative officials, video footage showed.

Lawyers for Yoon, who was impeached by parliament on Dec. 14 and kept in seclusion at his official residence in Seoul, said the attempt to arrest him was an attempt to publicly humiliate the politically motivated president.

Yun also believes that the arrest warrant is illegal because it was issued by a court of wrongful jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate it lacked the legal authority to do so.

The warrant enforcement team held several meetings with senior officials from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) and police to ensure the success of the reissued warrant on January 7.

CIO chief Oh Dong-won, who is leading the investigation, said authorities will do whatever it takes to bring Yeon to jail.