South Korean investigators head to Seoul to arrest impeached President Yoon
Photo: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (Getty Images)
On Friday, South Korea's anti-corruption agency sent investigators to carry out an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who had been impeached. Meanwhile, a crowd of protesters clashed with the police near his residence, vowing to prevent the arrest, according to Reuters and Associated Press.
Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) were seen with boxes being loaded into vehicles before leaving their office in Gwacheon early in the morning. Later, TV channels aired footage of some of these vehicles maneuvering between police buses, which heavily filled and barricaded the streets near Yoon's home.
The Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon after he evaded multiple summons for questioning and blocked searches at his office in Seoul. This hindered the investigation into whether his brief declaration of martial law in the country on December 3 amounted to a coup.
It is currently known that around 2,800 police officers gathered near Yoon’s residence. There have been no reports of clashes with protesters, although Reuters claims otherwise.
It remains unclear how the police will proceed with the arrest or whether the president's security service, which blocked investigators from executing a search warrant at his office and official residence, will attempt to prevent the operation.
If the impeached South Korean president is arrested, the anti-corruption agency will have 48 hours to conduct an investigation, either request an official arrest warrant or release him.
As a reminder, after the court issued an arrest warrant, Yoon Suk Yeol told his supporters in a letter that he would "fight until the end."
