South Korean Court Issues Warrant To Detain Impeached President Yoon

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court issued warrants Tuesday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and search his office and residence over allegations of rebellion in connection with his short-lived declaration of martial law.

Kwak Jong-keun, the commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, testified at the National Assembly that Yoon called on troops to “quickly knock down the door and drag out the lawmakers who are inside.” Kwak said he did not carry out Yoon’s orders.

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Under South Korean law, the leader of a rebellion can face the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted. Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but the privilege does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.

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Choi’s moves drew rebukes from both the ruling and opposition parties. The governing People Power Party accused him of surrendering to the opposition’s political offensive, while the main liberal opposition Democratic Party urged Choi to quickly appoint the remaining ninth justice.

The anti-corruption agency said it has no immediate plans on when it would proceed with the warrants.

The agency says it’s been investigating whether Yoon’s Dec. 3 declaration amounted to rebellion.

“Unless Yoon voluntarily lets them detain him, there is no way to detain him,” said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership. “Should investigators have hand-to-hand fights with the security service?”

Park Sung-min, president of Seoul-based political consulting firm MIN Consulting, said the push for an arrest warrant is likely an attempt to pressure Yoon to cooperate with investigations.

The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, has become South Korea’s new interim leader. On Tuesday, Choi appointed two new justices, saying he feels the urgency to resolve political uncertainty and national divide.

Yoon’s powers have been suspended since the opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14 over his imposition of martial law, during which hundreds of troops and police officers were deployed at the assembly. By law, a president in South Korea is allowed to declare martial law only during wartime or similar emergencies and has no right to suspend parliament’s operations even under martial law.

Former President Park Geun-hye, who was thrown out of office in 2017 following an impeachment over a corruption scandal, also refused to meet with prosecutors while in office. She underwent questioning by them and was arrested after the Constitutional Court removed her from office.

The Constitutional Court is to determine whether to dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.

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Choi said that investigators were still likely to visit Yoon’s residence to show they are strictly and fairly carrying out their work.

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