Arrest warrant issued to impeach South Korean President Yoon

A court in Seoul On December 3, an arrest warrant was issued against South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol for attempting to impose martial law.

The warrant comes after Yun, who faces multiple investigations on rebellion and treason charges, ignored three summonses to appear for questioning over the past two weeks.

On Sunday night, investigators sought an arrest warrant for Yoon on charges of rebellion and abuse of power – a move his lawyer described as “illegal”.

South Korea is in political crisis following a short-lived martial law declaration, with both Yoon and his successor impeached by parliament.

Yoon is the first sitting president of South Korea to face arrest.

The court warrant gives investigators 48 hours to take him into custody for questioning.

However, it is unclear whether investigators will be able to execute the warrant as they may be thwarted by his security team and protesters.

The Presidential Security Service had previously blocked investigators from entering the presidential office grounds and Yun’s private residence to conduct court-approved searches.

In the past, South Korean authorities have abandoned arrest efforts against prominent politicians because their allies and supporters physically blocked police.

On Monday, Yoon’s legal team said investigators had no authority to arrest him, as declaring martial law was within the president’s constitutional authority.

Yun had previously defended his decision to declare martial law vowed to “fight till the end” However, he also said that he will not shirk his legal and political responsibilities.

His lawyer Yoon Gap-gyun said that Yoon’s failure to comply with the first three subpoenas was due to “legitimate concerns”.

Yoon’s whereabouts are not publicly known, but he is banned from leaving the country.

While he has been suspended from presidential duties since December 14 after lawmakers voted to impeach him, he can only be removed from office if his impeachment is upheld by the country’s constitutional court.

The nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court currently has only six judges. This means that a single rejection will prevent Yoon from being removed.

Opposition lawmakers had hoped the nomination of three additional judges would improve the chances of impeaching Yoon, but their proposal was vetoed by Prime Minister Han Duk-soo last week.

The opposition has since voted to impeach Han, who stepped in as acting leader after Yun was suspended.

Now, they are threatening to do the same to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who currently serves as both acting president and acting prime minister.

Additional reporting by Kelly Ng