Political circles in South Korea expected that the government’s anti-corruption agency would begin issuing an arrest warrant to detain suspended President Yeon Suk-yul, on Thursday, after a court in Seoul issued an arrest warrant for his attempt to impose martial law in the country, according to the official Yonhap Agency..
The Seoul Western District Court issued the arrest warrant against Yoon on Tuesday, on charges of orchestrating the short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3 and abusing his authority, making Yoon the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest.
Yonhap reported that since the arrest warrant was issued, the High-ranking Officials Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) has been coordinating with police on the exact timing and method of implementing the order.
On Wednesday, Yoon pledged in a message to his supporters to “fight to the end to protect the country.” Yoon delivered the message to his supporters who gathered in front of his presidential residence in the Yongsan area of Seoul to oppose his impeachment, according to his lawyer Seok Dong-hyun.
“Due to the violation of its sovereignty by internal and external forces and the activities of anti-state groups, South Korea is now in danger,” Yoon said, pledging, “With you, I will fight to the end to protect this country.”
Yoon expressed his gratitude to the supporters, saying that he was following their “efforts” via live broadcast on YouTube. “A free democracy, where every citizen is the owner, and not the state or party, will certainly prevail,” he said.
Senior aides to suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul submitted their collective resignation on Wednesday, a day after Yoon’s office expressed its regret over Choi Sang-mook, the acting president, agreeing to appoint two new judges to the court, which is scheduled to rule on the case. The issue of Yoon’s impeachment.
Yoon’s office said in a statement, “The Director of the Office, the Chief of Policy, the National Security Advisor, and the Special Advisor for Foreign Affairs and Security, as well as all other senior secretaries, have submitted their resignations,” without going into details.
Choi’s office said that the acting president would not accept their resignation, because the priority now is to focus on improving the economy and stabilizing state affairs.
This brings the total number of judges to 8 in the court, which consists of 9 members. Any decision in Yoon’s case will require the approval of at least six justices.
The ruling People’s Power Party, to which Yoon belongs, criticized Choi’s decision, calling it “arbitrary” and lacking adequate consultation.
Finance Minister Choi took over as acting president on Friday, after Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, who had been in office since December 14, was removed after Yoon’s powers were suspended.
Yoon faces a criminal investigation into accusations that he was a leader of a rebellion, and the Seoul Western District Court on Tuesday issued a warrant approving his arrest, the first arrest warrant issued against a South Korean president still in office.
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 6 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.
Suggest a correction