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South Korean authorities were forced to abandon their efforts to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday after a tense standoff unfolded at his residence. The attempted apprehension stemmed from allegations surrounding his failed bid to impose martial law, a move that has drawn sharp criticism and intensified political turmoil in the nation.
Should the warrant against Yoon be executed, he would make history as the first incumbent president in South Korea to face arrest, an unprecedented event that comes on the heels of his suspension from official duties by lawmakers. This potential arrest underscores the gravity of the political turmoil engulfing his administration and could mark a pivotal moment in the nation’s democratic evolution.
In a miscalculated move that upended East Asia’s democratic stability, the president’s December 3 declaration plunged the nation into a brief but alarming throwback to its authoritarian past. Now standing at the crossroads of justice, he faces the grim prospect of incarceration or, in the worst-case scenario, the death penalty—a fate that underscores the gravity of his actions.
“Regarding the execution of the arrest warrant today, it was determined that the execution was effectively impossible due to the ongoing standoff,” the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is probing Yoon over his martial law decree, said in a statement.
“Concern for the safety of personnel on-site led to the decision to halt” the arrest attempt, the statement said of the confrontation with Yoon’s presidential security service and its military unit.
The clock is ticking on the warrant, which expires Monday, plunging the situation into a tense limbo. Yoon, refusing to back down, has boldly stated his intention to “fight” against any attempts by authorities to detain or question him, a defiance that further complicates the already fraught proceedings.
Under the watchful eyes of tight security, a team of CIO investigators, led by senior prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan, managed to breach the heavily fortified barricades surrounding Yoon’s residence. Their mission was clear: to enforce the warrant and take the embattled leader into custody, a move fraught with political and legal implications.
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At one critical juncture, soldiers assigned to the Presidential Security Service clashed directly with CIO operatives at the presidential residence, according to a statement made to the press by an official from Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. This confrontation highlighted the mounting tensions surrounding the unfolding drama.
Before the execution of the court-approved warrant was called off, Yoon’s security detail told AFP they had been “in negotiation” with the CIO investigators who sought to access the president.
Yoon’s security service — which still protects Yoon as the country’s sitting head of state — has previously blocked attempted police raids of the presidential office.
The president himself has ignored three rounds of summons from investigators, prompting them to seek the warrant. Yoon’s legal team — who raced to the residence and AFP saw allowed inside — decried the attempt to execute the arrest warrant, vowing to take further legal action against the move.
“The execution of a warrant that is illegal and invalid is indeed not lawful,” Yoon’s lawyer Yoon Kap-keun said.
On Friday, prosecutors also indicted two top military officials including one who was briefly named martial law commander during last month’s fiasco, on charges of insurrection, Yonhap reported. Both were already in detention.