SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s anti-corruption office announced on Tuesday that it has acquired a new court warrant aimed at detaining the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. This action comes after last week’s failed attempt, which was thwarted by the president’s security service.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials is gearing up to interrogate Yoon regarding rebellion allegations linked to a brief martial law proclamation issued on December 3. However, the agency has not confirmed the duration for which the latest warrant will be effective.
When questioned by lawmakers about the expiration of the warrant, Chief Prosecutor Oh Dong-woon refrained from disclosing specifics, citing the sensitive nature of the information as the agency and police evaluate how to implement the warrant. Standard practice suggests that such warrants typically last for seven days but could be extended up to ten days. Oh has not disclosed when investigators plan to make another effort to detain Yoon.
Last week, the Seoul Western District Court initially issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention and a separate warrant to search his home, following his refusal to comply with authorities’ repeated summons for questioning. On Friday, around 150 investigators and police officers made an attempt to detain Yoon, but they withdrew after a standoff with the presidential security service that lasted more than five hours. The previous warrants expired on Monday, as investigators opted not to make an additional attempt to detain the president.
Should investigators succeed in detaining Yoon, they would likely seek court permission for a formal arrest; otherwise, he would be released after 48 hours. Both the anti-corruption agency and the police have asserted their commitment to escalating efforts to detain Yoon, a process made more complicated while he remains at his official residence.
The anti-corruption agency is collaborating with the police and military to investigate Yoon’s brief assertion of power, which included declaring martial law and deploying troops around the National Assembly. Lawmakers who managed to breach the blockade eventually voted to repeal the martial law shortly thereafter.
Following the impeachment vote by the opposition-controlled Assembly on December 14, which stated accusations of rebellion against him, Yoon’s presidential powers have been suspended. The Constitutional Court has commenced deliberations on the possibility of formally removing Yoon or reinstating him.
Over the weekend, members of Yoon’s security team were observed installing barbed wire around the entrance and hills surrounding the presidential compound. Chief Prosecutor Oh confirmed to lawmakers that discussions are ongoing about whether to arrest individuals in the presidential security service if they impede efforts to detain Yoon. The police have stated they are exploring “all available options” for bringing Yoon into custody and have not ruled out deploying SWAT teams, although the potential for escalating conflict with armed presidential security forces remains unclear.
Park Jong-joon, the leader of the presidential security service, defended against allegations that his unit has turned into Yoon’s personal militia, insisting it has a legal obligation to safeguard the sitting president. He, along with his deputy, has disregarded summonses from the police, who sought to question them over suspected interference in official duties following Friday’s events.
During a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Oh admonished the acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, for directing the police to accommodate the presidential security service’s request for added security personnel at Yoon’s residence ahead of Friday’s detention attempt. Although the police did not act on Choi’s directive, Oh indicated that they are reviewing whether Choi’s actions could be construed as an obstruction of justice.
The agency has consistently encouraged Choi to urge the presidential security service to cooperate with the enforcement of the detention warrant against Yoon, yet Choi has refrained from making any comments.
Yoon’s legal team contends that the warrants issued against the president are unenforceable at his residence due to laws protecting locations possibly linked to military secrets from search without proper authorization — which in this case would require Yoon’s consent. They also argue that the anti-corruption office lacks the legal jurisdiction to investigate rebellion allegations and to delegate police for Yoon’s detention.
On Monday, Yoon’s lawyers filed complaints against Chief Prosecutor Oh alongside six anti-corruption and police officers regarding the attempted detention on Friday, labeling it illegal. Complaints were also directed at the acting national police chief, the acting defense minister, and two Seoul police officials for neglecting the presidential security service’s request for additional forces to thwart Yoon’s detention.
