South Korean court issues arrest warrant for President Yoon Ka Reuters

By Josh Smith and Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) – A South Korean court on Tuesday approved the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was indicted and suspended over his decision to impose martial law on Dec. 3, officials said. the researchers said.

The Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) confirmed the Seoul West District Court has received a letter requested by investigators looking into Yoon’s temporary martial law placement.

This is the first arrest warrant for a sitting South Korean president, according to local media.

The current arrest warrant is valid until Jan 6, and once it is used, Yoon is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center, Yonhap news agency said citing the CIO.

The court gave permission because of the possibility that Yoon may not respond to the summons without a valid reason, and there is a strong reason to suspect Yoon of a crime, Yonhap said. The court declined to comment.

Yoon has failed to respond to investigators’ subpoenas for questioning three times since the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.

Yoon is facing a criminal investigation on allegations that he was the ringleader. Treason is one of the few charges against which the South Korean president is immune.

It was unclear when or how an arrest warrant for Yoon would be executed. South Korea’s presidential security service said in a statement on Tuesday that it will process the arrest warrant in accordance with due process.

The court also approved a warrant to search Yoon’s residence, the CIO said.

In the past, the police tried but failed to successfully raid the presidential office as part of the investigation, due to the presidential security service blocking access.

The acting leader of South Korea’s People Power Party, Kweon Seong-dong, said on Tuesday that trying to impeach the sitting president is not appropriate.

Kim Yong-min, a lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party, which holds the majority in parliament and brought Yoon’s guilty vote, said on Tuesday that “the process of executing the warrant and the investigation can be very difficult”, he asked the researchers to finish immediately. letters of permission.