South Korean leader’s security chief warns against violent attempts to arrest Yoon
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Presidential Security Service head Park Chong-jun was questioned by police on Jan 10 over his role in last week’s stand-off.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL – The security chief of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, under investigation for blocking his arrest, resigned on Jan 10 and said any further efforts to detain the former leader must avoid bloodshed.
Mr Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec 3
As a top court deliberates over lawmakers’ decision to impeach Mr Yoon, who is holed up at his hillside residence, anti-graft officers have also opened a criminal investigation for possible insurrection.
Those officers were last week stopped from bringing Mr Yoon in for questioning
Investigators have a warrant for Mr Yoon’s arrest and have said they are determined to detain him for questioning.
Mr Park, a former senior police official, was questioned by the police on Jan 10 over his role in last week’s stand-off and his office announced he had submitted his resignation.
As he arrived at the police headquarters in downtown Seoul, he told reporters that the current attempt to arrest a sitting president was wrong and that “there should not be any physical clash or bloodshed under any circumstances”.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok, just two weeks in office and thrust into a political cauldron, on Jan 10 called for a fresh way to resolve the stalemate between investigators and Mr Yoon’s security.
He proposed Parliament prepare a Bill to appoint a special prosecutor. Earlier, he had vetoed an opposition-backed special prosecutor Bill to probe the martial law declaration, saying it had no guarantee an independent person would be appointed to lead the probe.
Support for President’s party recovers
On Jan 3, hundreds of PSS agents blockaded the presidential compound and thwarted investigators from trying to arrest Mr Yoon. The investigators were pulled back because of the risk of a clash.
Officials of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which is leading the investigation, have said PSS agents were carrying firearms during the stand-off, although no weapons were drawn.
The investigators obtained a new arrest warrant this week. Lawyers for Mr Yoon have said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid.
Mr Yoon is under a separate Constitutional Court trial reviewing Parliament’s impeachment of him on Dec 14 to decide whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him. His lawyers have said he will accept that verdict.
As Mr Yoon awaits his fate, polls released this week showed a revival of support for his ruling People Power Party (PPP) and calls for his permanent removal slipping.
A Gallup Korea survey published on Jan 10 showed 64 per cent of respondents back Mr Yoon’s removal from office, compared with the 75 per cent who favoured it soon after the martial law declaration.
The PPP’s approval rating rose to 34 per cent, a level similar to the period before Dec 3, in the poll of 1,004 people this week, from 24 per cent about a month ago.
Analysts said the prolonged uncertainty over Mr Yoon’s fate has not only emboldened his supporters but also softened some critics concerned that Mr Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, who is himself on trial on allegations of criminal wrongdoings, may become president. REUTERS
