South Korean authorities seek to arrest Yoon over the declaration of martial law | Politics news

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A joint investigation unit requests an arrest warrant for the president who was suspended due to the brief imposition of martial law.

South Korean authorities have requested an arrest warrant for suspended President Yeon Suk-yeol for declaring martial law for a short period.

South Korea’s Joint Investigation Headquarters said Monday it had requested Yoon’s arrest on charges of rebellion and abuse of authority.

The joint investigation team, made up of officials from the Senior Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), the police and the Ministry of Defence, said it had requested an arrest warrant after the deposed leader ignored three subpoenas to appear for questioning.

The court will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant after requesting Yoon’s arrest, which would be the first of its kind in South Korea’s history.

While Yoon enjoys immunity from prosecution for most crimes as a sitting president, he is not protected from legal consequences in cases of rebellion or treason.

Yoon’s lawyer, Yoon Jap-geon, told the state-funded Yonhap news agency that the investigative committee was acting beyond its authority, and that he would take “official steps” in response.

Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law on December 3 caught South Korea by surprise, plunging the East Asian country into its biggest political crisis in decades.

Yoon has been suspended from his duties since last December 14, while the National Assembly was in session They voted to sack him In a vote of 204-85.

The conservative leader, who served as the country’s top prosecutor before entering politics, faces criminal charges of sedition, a crime punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Yoon has defended his brief declaration of martial law as a legal and necessary act, citing the threat of “anti-state forces” and obstruction by the opposition Democratic Party.

The country’s leadership crisis worsened on Friday after the opposition-controlled Legislative Council voted to impeach acting President Han Dak-soo, handing presidential power to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mook.

The Democratic Party and several small opposition parties voted to impeach Han after he refused to immediately appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court, which is deliberating whether to uphold Yoon’s impeachment.

The court has up to six months to make its decision, after which Yoon will be removed from office or returned to the presidency.

In the first preparatory hearing on Friday, the court rejected a request by Yoon’s lawyers to postpone the proceedings to allow the South Korean leader to better prepare his case.