South Korean court issues arrest warrant for President Yoon via Reuters

Written by Josh Smith and Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) – A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was impeached and suspended from power over his decision to impose martial law on December 3, investigative authorities said.

The Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau (CIO) confirmed that the Seoul Western District Court approved the arrest warrant requested by investigators examining Yoon’s imposition of martial law for a short period.

This is the first arrest warrant issued against a sitting president in South Korea, according to local media.

The current arrest warrant remains in effect until January 6, and once executed, Yoon is expected to be detained at a detention center in Seoul, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the IT director.

Yonhap said the court issued the arrest warrant due to the possibility that Yoon would not respond to the summons without justifiable reason, and that there was substantial reason to suspect Yoon of committing a crime. The court declined to comment.

Yoon has failed to respond to investigators’ summonses for questioning three times since martial law was declared on December 3.

Yoon faces a criminal investigation over allegations that he was the leader of the rebellion. Mutiny is one of the few charges against which the South Korean president does not have immunity.

It is not clear when or how the arrest warrant against Yoon will be executed. South Korea’s presidential security service said in a statement on Tuesday that it would handle the arrest warrant in accordance with due process.

The IT director said the court also approved a search warrant for Yoon’s home.

Previously, the police successfully attempted to raid the presidential office as part of the investigation, but failed, due to the Presidential Security Service preventing access to it.

Kooyun Seong-dong, acting leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, said on Tuesday that trying to arrest a sitting president is inappropriate.

“The process of executing the arrest warrant and investigation may be very difficult,” Kim Young-min, a lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament and caused the vote to impeach Yoon, said on Tuesday, calling on investigators to implement the order immediately. Commands.