A Seoul court on Tuesday approved the request of a joint investigation team to temporarily detain South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for his brief imposition of martial law, becoming the first sitting South Korean president to face a arrest.
The Seoul Western District Court issued the order against Yoon – accused of planning the failed declaration of martial law on December 3, orchestrating an insurrection and abusing his power – after the president ignored three summonses to be questioned about it. .
After obtaining the court order, the Office of Corruption Investigations of High-ranking Officials (CIO) now has 48 hours to hold Yoon for questioning.
During that period, you can request another order to extend the arrest in case you want to continue interrogating the president.
A CIO official indicated in statements reported by the Yonhap agency that the order obtained is valid for a week and that it has not yet been decided when to execute it.
In any case, uncertainties remain over whether the CIO can execute the order, since the Presidential Security Service has prevented investigators from entering both the presidential office complex and Yoon’s official residence to conduct searches approved by the court.
In turn, the president’s lawyers indicated that technically only the Prosecutor’s Office can request this type of arrest warrants and that they have presented a brief to try to annul the edict.
Although Yoon has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, the privilege does not extend to charges of insurrection, which in South Korea carries life imprisonment or capital punishment (on which there has been a moratorium since 1997) for those convicted. considers leaders of a revolt of this type.
The announcement marks the first time in the democratic history of the Asian country that a president still in office faces the possibility of being arrested.
Yoon was dismissed on December 14 by the National Assembly (Parliament), which has temporarily stripped him of his functions until the Constitutional Court decides between now and June whether to restore his powers or permanently disqualify him.
The petition alleges that Yoon led an insurrection and abused his position by declaring a state of emergency on Dec. 3 and that he allegedly ordered the military to prevent parliament members from voting against his decision to overturn it.
Parliamentarians finally managed to vote against martial law, apparently thanks in part to the refusal of middle military commanders to follow orders, forcing the president to rescind the state of emergency within hours of declaring it.
Yoon has denied the accusations, arguing that his declaration of martial law was an “act of governance” that sought to warn the opposition, which has a majority in Parliament, against what he has described as an abuse of legislative power that seeks to undermine the state. and support the North Korean regime, with whom the South is technically at war.
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