South Korea protesters rally for and against Yoon’s arrest as deadline looms
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SEOUL – Thousands braved heavy snow in Seoul on Jan 5 to rally for and against the arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as South Korea’s political crisis appeared headed towards another high-stakes confrontation.
With an arrest warrant against Mr Yoon
Mr Yoon became the country’s first sitting president to face arrest over his botched attempt to declare martial law
The conservative president was impeached by Parliament and is suspended from official duties while a court decides whether to reinstate or remove him. On Jan 3, criminal investigators were blocked from arresting him by Mr Yoon’s presidential security service and military troops in a six-hour stand-off.
The Seoul Western District Court on Jan 5 rejected a complaint from Mr Yoon’s lawyers that the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid, Yonhap news agency reported. Calls to the court seeking comment went unanswered.
Mr Yoon’s lawyers have said the warrant was unconstitutional because the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), which leads his criminal investigation, has no authority under South Korean law to investigate any case involving insurrection allegations.
‘A big problem’
The lawyers said in a statement on Jan 5 that they would report CIO chief Oh Dong-woon and the investigation team to prosecutors for what they called illegally executing the warrant, including by mobilising police when the anti-graft body has no authority to do so.
The CIO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Judging the legitimacy of any legal interpretation and execution is difficult,” Mr Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Mr Yoon, said on Facebook. “If there is an error in the legality of law enforcement against the incumbent president, it will be a big problem.”
Some of the Jan 5 protesters had gathered overnight in downtown Seoul, where temperatures fell below minus 5 deg C. More than 5cm of snow piled up in parts of the capital, which was under a heavy snow warning.
“We have to re-establish the foundation of our society by punishing the president who has denied the Constitution,” said Mr Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major labour group that took part in the protests.
“We must bring down the criminal Yoon Suk Yeol and arrest and detain him as soon as possible.”
Nearby, Mr Yoon supporters held placards reading “We will fight for President Yoon Suk Yeol” and “Stop the Steal”, a phrase popularised by US President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters
Similar rallies drew tens of thousands on Jan 4, prompting the police to try to disperse KCTU protesters occupying roads and disrupting traffic. Two were detained, accused of assaulting police officers, Yonhap news agency reported.
On Jan 4, the CIO again asked Acting President Choi Sang-mok, the Finance Minister, to order the security service to comply with the arrest warrant.
