South Korea’s anti-corruption agency reports that a court has issued arrest warrants for former President Yun Suk-yeol who was impeached, and his office is to be subject to a search.
Seoul’s Criminal Investigation Agency announced that warrants were issued by the city’s Western District Court in reference to a recently declared martial law that was later revoked.
The agency has announced that it is conducting a probe into whether South Korea’s leader’s declaration of martial law constitutes a rebellion.
Yoon’s presidential duties were put on hold on 14 December, after the opposition-dominated National Assembly passed an impeachment vote. His official duties will remain suspended unless the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove or reinstate Yoon as President.
The impeached president has consistently failed to honour repeated summons by investigative bodies for testimony, and has refused multiple legal requests to search his office.
Yoon benefits from a privilege enjoyed by all South Korean presidents that spares him from prosecution on most criminal charges. Nevertheless, this protection does not apply in cases of severe crimes including rebellion or treason.
The anti-corruption agency does not currently have plans in place regarding the warrants, at least not in the short term.
On Monday, Yoon’s legal team made a bid to dispute the investigator’s court request for a detention warrant. The president’s lawyers claimed that the agency does not have the authority to investigate the rebellion, but refrained from elaborating on their plan of action if the court were to issue the warrant.
Many onlookers question whether authorities would arrest Yoon by force, given the risk of confrontation with the presidential security team, which has hindered investigators from conducting a search of Yoon’s office.
Yoon’s declaration of martial law was temporary, effective for just six hours until he rescinded the order. This decision was aimed at neutralizing organizations deemed opposed to the state, a term Yoon invoked to describe opposition groups he believes are sympathetic to North Korea’s ideology. This move sparked intense political upheaval, halting high-level diplomatic efforts and sending shockwaves through financial markets, while also fueling protests demanding his resignation.
Yoon claimed his decree was a “legitimate act of governance”, using it as a means to counter opposition parties and lawmakers who wielded a parliamentary majority to challenge the government, threaten senior officials with impeachment, and undermine its authority.
South Korea’s political standoff intensified last Friday, with the Democratic Party and other smaller opposition parties voting to remove acting President Han Duck-soo from office amidst a dispute over his refusal to nominate three new justices for the Constitutional Court. Analysts warn that increasing the court’s numbers could potentially influence the outcome of Yoon’s impeachment proceedings.
Yoon’s future in office hangs in the balance as the Constitutional Court considers whether to confirm his impeachment and remove him, or reverse it and allow him to retain his position.
