A South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for deposed President Yoon

A court established in South Korea An arrest warrant was issued for suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol for his attempt to impose martial law on December 3.

The arrest warrant comes after Yoon, who is being investigated for abusing his power and inciting rebellion, ignored three subpoenas to appear for questioning over the past two weeks.

Leon’s legal team described the memo as “illegal and invalid” and said they would challenge it in court.

South Korea has been witnessing a political crisis since the short-lived declaration of martial law, as Yoon and his successor were removed by the opposition-dominated parliament.

Yoon is the first South Korean president to face arrest.

Investigators have until January 6 to implement the arrest warrant approved by a court in the capital, Seoul, and they can request an extension.

However, it is not clear whether investigators will be able to execute the arrest warrant, as they may be thwarted by his security team and protesters.

The Presidential Security Service had earlier prevented investigators from entering the grounds of the presidential office and Yoon’s private residence to conduct court-approved searches.

In the past, South Korean authorities have abandoned attempts to arrest prominent politicians after their aides and supporters physically blocked police.

Leon’s legal team said Monday that investigators do not have the authority to arrest him because declaring martial law falls within the president’s constitutional authority.

Yoon had previously defended his decision to declare martial law He pledged to “fight to the end” – Although he also said that he would not evade his legal and political responsibilities.

His lawyer, Yoon Jap Jeon, said Yoon’s failure to comply with the previous three summonses was due to “legitimate concerns.”

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

Although he has been suspended from his presidential duties since December 14 after lawmakers voted to impeach him, he can only be removed from office if the country’s Constitutional Court upholds his impeachment.

There are currently only six judges on the nine-member Constitutional Court bench. This means that one rejection would save Yoon from elimination.

Opposition lawmakers had hoped the appointment of three additional judges would improve Yoon’s impeachment prospects, but Prime Minister Han Dak-soo vetoed their proposal last week.

The opposition has since voted to remove Han, who took over as acting president after Yoon was suspended.

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

Choi on Tuesday appointed two new judges, but said appointing a third would require consensus between the opposition and ruling parties.

Additional reporting by Kelly Ng