South Korean authorities failed to arrest and impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol today. After an army unit blocked the execution of the warrant for several hours, investigators trying to apprehend South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol this morning were unable to finish their task and were forced to depart the presidential home.
The High-level Corruption Investigation Agency said in a statement that the operation was suspended a short time ago in order to protect the agents who visited the Yoon residence.
In a statement issued this morning, Yoon Sock-yell’s lawyer stated that the attempt to carry out his arrest warrant is “illegal” and that he will take legal action, but he did not specify what that action may be.
It would be a first for the Asian country if Yoon, who is nominally still in power until the Constitutional Court decides by June whether or not to remove him from office, is jailed.
For weeks, Yoon, a former prosecutor, has resisted being questioned by investigators. He is last known to have left his home on December 12, when he traveled to the neighboring presidential office to give a nationally televised speech in which he vowed to oppose any attempts to unseat him.
Charges of corruption are being investigated by South Korea’s anti-corruption agency. Yoon, who reportedly became angry that his policies were being thwarted by a parliament controlled by the opposition, imposed martial law on December 3 and dispatched troops to encircle the National Assembly.
Yoon was removed from office on December 14 when the parliament unanimously overturned the decision in a matter of hours and accused him of sedition. Meanwhile, prosecutors and anti-corruption officials in South Korea opened independent investigations into the incident.
His arrest order was issued by a Seoul court on Tuesday, but while he is still at his official residence, enforcement is difficult. Yoon’s attorneys, who submitted an objection to the order on Thursday, contend that it cannot be carried out at his home due to a law that prohibits searching areas that may contain military secrets without the head of the department’s approval. The warrant has a one-week validity period.
