South Korean investigators want to extend Yoon’s arrest warrant, according to Reuters

By Hyunsu Yam

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean investigators want to extend a warrant for the arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, the official said on Monday, as the anti-graft agency asked police to take over efforts to arrest the embattled leader.

The questions came amid tensions with Presidential Security Service guards after a human chain barred investigators from accessing Yoon after he tried to serve the warrant on Friday.

Yoon is under criminal investigation for his Dec. 3 bid for martial law, which stunned South Korea and led to the first court-issued arrest warrant for a sitting president.

The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), along with the police and prosecutor’s office, is leading the charge that Yun orchestrated the riots by imposing martial law.

Yun was impeached by parliament on December 14 and suspended from the presidency. The Constitutional Court is trying the case to permanently remove him from office or to reinstate him.

In a statement to reporters, the Anti-Corruption Agency issued a notice to the police to execute the CIO’s arrest warrant. Police officials told Reuters they were reviewing the request.

The move comes amid frustration with Uon’s critics at the CIO for failing to meet his jail term, which expires at midnight on Monday (1500 GMT).

The CIO plans to ask the court on Monday for the extension of the arrest warrant, a CIO official said.

Yoon’s lawyers have argued that the anti-corruption force, which is leading the criminal investigation, does not have jurisdiction under South Korean law to investigate any corruption charges.

On Monday, Seek Dong Hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon, said the bid to postpone the execution of the arrest warrant was an admission by the CIO that the investigation and arrest warrant were “illegal.”

Seoul’s Western District Court on Sunday rejected an order by Yoon’s legal team to reject a warrant to arrest the president and search his official residence, Yonhap said.

Amid ongoing political unrest, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is visiting South Korea this week, where he will meet with senior government officials and reaffirm his alliance with Seoul, the US State Department announced.

The UN declaration of martial law has sent South Korea into political turmoil, prompting a rare rebuke from officials in Washington, including Blinken’s deputy Kurt Campbell, who said they were “very wrong”.

Blinken said on Monday that Washington has full confidence in the resilience of South Korea’s democracy and the leadership of President Choi Sang-mok, Seoul’s finance minister.

On Sunday, Park Chong-joon, the president’s security chief, said his agents had clashed with investigators who tried to execute the arrest warrant on Friday, saying they could not cooperate with the still-debated legal action.

After attempts to execute the warrant failed, the CIO asked Acting President Choi to direct the security services to cooperate with investigators. Despite pressure to intervene, Choi did not respond to the request.

The CIO is an independent agency launched in January 2021 to investigate senior officials, including the president and his family, but does not have the power to impeach the president.

Instead, after the inquiry is over, it is mandated by law to refer the case to the prosecutor’s office to take any action, including filing charges.

The unprecedented attempt to arrest a sitting president has fueled rallies by supporters of Yeon, chanting slogans calling for “stop the theft” among US President-elect Donald Trump voters and Yeon’s punishment.

On Monday, hardcore Yoon supporters led by Christian pastor Joon Kwang-hoon held a news conference and described the fight for Yoon as a “global liberation war.”

“Unfortunately, there is no Fox News in Korea,” he said, referring to the US cable news channel popular with Trump supporters.

June said Yoon’s supporters would continue to protest outside their residence “until they reap the consequences.”