Now that confrontation between the presidential security personnel and the team assigned with his arrest has been drawing large crowds of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s supporters to the neighborhood denouncing attempts to detain him.
Our Lee Eun-hee is on site.
Eun-hee what have you been hearing?
Yes, Sunny, I’ve been here for a few hours now, near the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu District, central Seoul.
It’s been over three hours since the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials suspended its operation at around 1:30 PM, having been unable to execute an arrest warrant against President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In response, President Yoon’s supporters cheered and reaffirmed their commitment to continue the rally overnight.
The rough estimation of the number of participants increased from around 6-hundred at 7 AM this morning to approximately over 10-thousand by 1:50 PM.
Some of Yoon’s supporters had even stayed overnight to keep watch.
Similar to yesterday’s scene, many are voicing strong criticism of the CIO, arguing that President Yoon’s declaration of martial law is lawful and insisting that it is the main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung who should be arrested instead.
Meanwhile, those opposing the president have also been holding rallies and marches calling for his impeachment and demanding his arrest.
Korea’s largest labor organization, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, launched a two-day protest near Hangangjin Station at 3 PM, nearby demanding President Yoon’s arrest.
However, the area around the presidential residence is predominantly filled with his supporters, who, on Wednesday, received a letter from the President himself.
In the letter, he expressed his gratitude for their support, assured them that he was closely following the rallies, and promised to continue fighting until the end.
Eun-hee despite the presence of people both in support of and against the president there have been no reports of unfortunate incidents so I’m assuming safety measures are well in place there?
Yes exactly.
In preparation, 45 riot police units, each consisting of 60 officers, along with approximately 2,700 police officers, were deployed near the presidential residence.
Additionally, over 130 riot police buses were stationed at the scene, and traffic around the presidential residence along Hannam-daero is partially restricted.
The police buses deployed by the CIO have now been removed, and vehicle restrictions in certain areas have been lifted.
We will need to see whether the rally gradually deescalates throughout the evening.
The arrest warrant is valid until next Monday, January 6th, meaning the CIO could resume efforts at any time, possibly over the weekend.
We can likely expect both small and large protests to continue for a while.
Back to you, Sunny.
All right Eun-hee thank you for that report.
That was our Lee Eun-hee reporting live from the president’s residential neighborhood.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279595
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