South Korean investigators made a fresh attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over a failed martial law bid, but were involved in clashes after being blocked by his guards.
Yoon has resisted arrest since a short-lived December 3 power grab plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades, after he directed soldiers to storm parliament in an unsuccessful attempt to stop lawmakers voting down his move.
The former star prosecutor, who has already been suspended from duty by lawmakers, would become the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested if the court-ordered warrant is carried out.
On a morning of high drama, officials probing Yoon presented the warrant at his official residence, but were blocked from arresting him by his presidential guards, the Yonhap news agency reported.
“The execution of the presidential arrest warrant has begun,” acting President Choi Sang-mok said in a statement.
“This situation is a crucial moment for maintaining order and the rule of law in South Korea.”
A joint team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) and police officers tried to enter the residence’s compound, but were blocked by unidentified personnel at the entrance gate, AFP journalists saw.
Investigators were then involved in a “physical clash” as they tried to forcibly enter the residence, Yonhap reported, without specifying who with.
Punches were thrown as the rival sides pushed each other in the clashes between investigators and those defending the residence, an AFP journalist saw.
At least one person was injured after collapsing during the standoff in front of the residence. They were transported away by fire authorities.
Yoon’s lawyers were seen in front of the residence protesting the arrest warrant’s execution, as a white police van tried to enter the compound.
Investigators were also attempting to enter the residence through an alternative mountain hiking trail near the official residence, according to Yonhap News TV.
The main road in front of Yoon’s residence was completely blocked off with police bus barricades early Wednesday, while thousands of his die-hard supporters massed outside.
His supporters were heard chanting “illegal warrant!” while waving glow sticks and South Korean and American flags.
Around 30 lawmakers from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party also arrived at the residence to block investigators, Yonhap reported.
A first attempt to arrest Yoon on January 3 failed after a tense hours-long standoff with his presidential guards, who refused to budge when investigators tried to execute their warrant.
Authorities have since threatened to detain anyone who obstructs the sitting leader’s arrest in the fresh attempt.
– Parallel trial –
Yoon’s guards have been seen in recent days installing barbed wire and barricades at the residence, turning it into what the opposition called a “fortress”.
Due to the tense situation, police decided not to carry firearms but only to wear bulletproof vests for the new attempt Wednesday, in case they were met by armed guards, local media reported.
If arrested, Yoon can be held for up to 48 hours on the existing warrant. Investigators would need to apply for another arrest warrant to keep him in custody.
Yoon’s legal team — who say he remains inside the residence — has decried the warrant as illegal and his chief of staff on Tuesday made an appeal for the arrest efforts to stop.
Chung Jin-suk said his office was “ready to consider all options for investigation or visits” to the sitting leader “at a third location”.
In a parallel probe, Yoon’s impeachment trial began on Tuesday with a brief hearing after he declined to attend.
Although his failure to attend — which his team have blamed on purported safety concerns — forced a procedural adjournment, the hearings will continue without Yoon, with the next set for Thursday.
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