The anti-corruption agency’s chief prosecutor, Oh Dong-woon, declined to answer questions about when the new warrant would expire.
South Korea’s anti-corruption agency says it has received a new court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, four days after the Presidential Security Service (PSS) prevented his detention last week.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), which is investigating an alleged offense of rebellion, said it wants to speak to Yoon about his decision to introduce martial law on Dec. 3, a position he was forced to reverse six hours later.
On Jan. 3, the Yonhap News Agency reported that investigators moved past a military unit barricading Yoon’s residence only to face resistance from the PSS inside.
About 150 anti-corruption agency investigators and police officers attempted to detain Yoon at his residence in Seoul but gave up after a five-hour stand-off with his guards.
The initial warrant to detain Yoon was issued by Seoul Western District Court after he failed to comply with three summonses for questioning. It expired on Jan. 6.
The CIO’s chief prosecutor, Oh Dong-woon, declined to answer questions about when the new warrant would expire, saying it was sensitive information.
Detention warrants in South Korea usually last seven days but can be extended to around 10 days, meaning that the CIO will have to move quickly to get hold of Yoon, who is still protected by the PSS.
Members of the PSS were seen installing barbed wire around the presidential compound over the weekend.
On Monday, Yoon’s lawyers filed complaints with public prosecutors against Oh and six other CIO officials and senior police officers in connection with what they claimed was the illegal attempt to detain him on Friday.
They also filed complaints against the country’s acting national police chief, the acting defense minister, and two Seoul police officials for ignoring the PSS’s request to provide additional forces to block Yoon’s detention attempt.
If the CIO does manage to detain Yoon, it can only hold him for 48 hours, unless it asks a court for a custody extension.
In a hearing in South Korea’s National Assembly on Tuesday, Oh criticized the acting president, Choi Sang-mok, for instructing police to beef up security ahead of Friday’s detention attempt.
The police refused Choi’s instruction, and Oh claimed Choi’s actions constituted an obstruction of official duty.
Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended on Dec. 14 after the National Assembly, which is dominated by the liberal opposition Democratic Party (DP), voted to impeach him.
Yoon, a former public prosecutor, was elected president in 2022 on the conservative People Power Party (PPP) ticket.
He has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, but it does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
On Dec. 3, 2024, hundreds of troops and police officers were deployed to the National Assembly, but lawmakers refused to approve Yoon’s martial law decree, forcing him to reverse the decision.
The Constitutional Court is deliberating on whether to formally remove Yoon from office.
Hundreds of his supporters are staging a sit-in protest near his official residence in Seoul.
Last week, Yoon sent them a letter saying: “I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing. I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you.”
A copy of the letter was sent to Reuters by Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon.
The political crisis in South Korea has seen Han Duck-soo of the PPP, who was made acting president after Yoon was ousted on Dec. 14, himself impeached by the National Assembly amid chaotic scenes, adding to South Korea’s political turmoil.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s communist neighbor, under its leader Kim Jong Un, continues to flex its military muscles. On Monday, North Korea test-fired what it said was a new hypersonic missile.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.