South Korean authorities are making a new attempt to raid a presidential office, Yonhap told Reuters

Written by Joyce Lee and Jo Min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean authorities made a new attempt on Tuesday to search the presidential office and obtain evidence as part of an investigation into the legality of President Yoon Suk-yul’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Yoon was impeached on Saturday due to his martial law decree and suspended from his presidential duties.

A joint investigation team including the police and the Corruption Investigation Bureau for Senior Officials is trying to access the computer servers of the presidential office’s security service to obtain phone records, including the phone used by the police commissioner, Yonhap said, citing the team. .

This will be the second time authorities have attempted to raid the presidential office over a martial law declaration that was retracted within hours after a standoff with Parliament. An attempt on December 11 ended without entry, but the presidential office voluntarily provided some data.

Police and the presidential office had no immediate comment on Tuesday. The IT director declined to comment.

Since his last public statements shortly after he was impeached by Parliament in a vote on Saturday, Yoon has remained out of sight and authorities and the Constitutional Court have been unable to contact or summon him, according to the court and officials.

Yoon has formed legal teams to defend himself against charges of rebellion and in the Constitutional Court case that will decide whether to remove him from office or restore his powers.

Seok Dong-hyun, a lawyer and former prosecutor who is assisting Yoon, told reporters on Tuesday that the president’s declaration of martial law did not constitute a rebellion, Yonhap reported.

Yonhap quoted Seok as saying that Yoon “will confidently express his position in the (constitutional) court.”

Yonhap reported that Seok refused to say whether Yoon would comply with a summons to appear for questioning on December 21, and said authorities needed to streamline current investigations being conducted by several agencies simultaneously, including prosecutors, police and the CIO.

Seok could not immediately be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s acting President Han Dak-soo called on Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting to quickly implement next year’s government budget from the beginning of 2025 in order to help revive the country’s slowing economy.

Han has been working to reassure South Korea’s allies and calm financial markets since he took over Yoon’s duties after the president’s impeachment.

The Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Tuesday that the government decided to allocate 75% of the 2025 budget in advance for its implementation during the first half of the year.

South Korea faces economic challenges, including growing uncertainty for the trade-reliant nation created by US President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to raise tariffs, with export growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy slowing for the fourth straight month in November, to its weakest level. . level in 14 months.