The joint investigation team into the case of imposing martial law in South Korea requested, on Monday, the issuance of an arrest warrant against President Yoon Suk-yul, who faces charges of rebellion, after he refused to appear three times for subpoena requests for investigation before the committee, in a precedent against a current president of South Korea.
The joint investigation team, which includes the Office to Investigate the Corruption of Senior Officials and the police, said, “It requested the Seoul Western District Court to issue the arrest warrant against the president at midnight on Sunday,” Yonhap reported.
The Investigation Bureau sent 3 summons to President Yoon to appear for questioning on charges of rebellion and abuse of power after he declared martial law on December 3, but he ignored the summons and refused to appear before them.
This is the first time that a request has been submitted to issue an arrest warrant against a president in the history of South Korea.
In turn, Yoon said, “He will submit a letter to the court regarding the arrest warrant, and that he will appoint legal representatives for him.”
On December 14, Parliament approved the removal of the president, referring the matter to the Constitutional Court, which will have the final say on whether to remove him or return him to his position.
On December 16, the Constitutional Court began hearing the case, and the court will have up to six months to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or return him to it. If the decision is upheld, Yoon will become the second president to be removed after former President Park Geun-hye, in 2017. Early presidential elections will be held within 60 days.
The court held its first hearing on December 27.
Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14 due to his imposition of martial law, which lasted a few hours.
Yoon’s fate now depends on a decision by the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally dismiss him or return him to his position.
Yoon denied the accusations and defended the martial law decree as an “act of governance” that came as a warning to the opposition party against what he described as an abuse of legislative power by disrupting its agenda with its parliamentary majority.
In a dramatic development that further complicated the events, on Friday, Parliament removed interim President Han Duk-soo from his position, on the grounds that he was accused of helping those responsible for declaring martial law, while the Minister of Finance assumed the duties of acting president.
Han was suspended from acting as interim president, and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, assumed the role of interim president.
Han said in a statement: “I respect the decision of the National Assembly, and to avoid adding more confusion and doubts, I will suspend my work duties in line with relevant laws, and await the quick and wise decision of the Constitutional Court.”
The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds 170 of the 300 seats in the Assembly, filed an impeachment motion against Han on Thursday, after he refused to appoint additional judges to the Constitutional Court that will rule on Yoon’s impeachment trial.
It is noteworthy that since the founding of South Korea in 1948, three of the 12 presidents have been convicted of criminal offenses, while the cases against two others have not been brought to trial.
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