South Korean investigators head to Seoul in attempt to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol
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South Korea’s anti-corruption agency on Friday dispatched investigators to execute a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree last month, as hundreds of his supporters gathered at his residence in Seoul, vowing to block their approach.
Investigators of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials were seen loading boxes into several vehicles before leaving their building in the city of Gwacheon early in the morning. Television footage later showed some of those vehicles weaving between police buses that tightly packed and barricaded the streets near Yoon’s residence.
The office didn’t immediately confirm how many investigators were sent. It wasn’t clear whether the president would cooperate with authorities trying to detain him. Yoon in a defiant New Year’s message to conservative supporters rallying outside his residence said he will “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces.” His lawyers have described the warrant to detain him as “invalid” and “illegal.”.
A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday after he evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office in Seoul, hindering an investigation into whether his ill-conceived power grab on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.
The warrant is valid for one week, and investigators may make another attempt to detain Yoon if they are unable to do so on Friday. Thousands of police officers were gathered at Yoon’s residence. There were no immediate reports of clashes with protesters.
