Authorities have until January 6th to execute an arrest warrant issued for President Yoon Suk Yeol and there is talk about a possible execution today.
Our correspondent Lee Shi-hoo has the latest.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials may execute a warrant to detain suspended President Yoon as early as Thursday.
That’s three days after a court issued arrest and search warrants against the president over his botched attempt to impose martial law on December 3rd.
The CIO, which sought the warrant after Yoon defied three summons for questioning, has since been discussing the specifics of the arrest with the police.
The arrest warrant is valid until Monday, January 6th, and the head of the anti-corruption agency vowed that it would execute the warrant within its validity dates.
But Yoon’s legal team is arguing that the warrant is “unlawful and invalid.”
Yoon’s supporters are also protesting the warrant, holding rallies outside his residence in Yongsan-gu District in central Seoul.
Meanwhile, Yoon himself sent out letters to his supporters on Wednesday, thanking them for their efforts to “preserve the democratic constitutional order.”
He also vowed that “he will fight until the end to protect South Korea” alongside them.
The Presidential Security Service, which remains on duty, has said there will be “security measures on its side according to due process,” hinting that it could block the CIO from entering Yoon’s residence and executing the warrant.
The CIO warned there may be penalties for such attempts to block Yoon’s arrest.
“We see setting up barricades, locking iron gates, and not complying with the execution of the arrest as an obstruction of public duty.”
The office plans to arrest Yoon, question him at its headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, and then detain him at the Seoul Detention Center for up to 48 hours after the arrest according to the law.
To keep Yoon in further detention, an additional warrant must be issued.
This, while the main opposition Democratic Party continues to urge the CIO to promptly carry out the arrest, and for the Presidential Security Service to comply with the process.
This is the first arrest warrant for an incumbent president in South Korea’s history.
Lee Shi-hoo, Arirang News.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279557
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