South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing serious trouble after a top investigator promised to make a new attempt to arrest him for insurrection charges. This comes after a court issued a new arrest warrant against him. Supporters and opponents of Yoon have been protesting outside the presidential compound despite the cold weather.
The Presidential Security Service (PSS) has tried to strengthen security around the building by putting up barricades and even using buses to block access to where Yoon is believed to be hiding. He hasn’t shown up for questioning yet. Yoon is in big trouble for trying to declare martial law on December 3, which shocked many in South Korea. This led to the first-ever arrest warrant for a sitting president. He’s also involved in an ongoing trial for his impeachment for not following his duties during this event.
Oh Dong-woon, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), apologized for a failed arrest last Friday after a six-hour standoff where he couldn’t get past a chain of guards. He promised to prepare better this time and said, “We’ll do our best to make sure this next attempt will be successful.”
It’s unclear how long this new arrest warrant will last. When asked about tough actions to overcome the security, Oh didn’t give specifics but didn’t reject the idea either. Some reports say they might bring in special police units and heavy machinery to break through the barricades, which might take several days if needed.
In the first attempt, the CIO and police were outnumbered by over 200 PSS members, many of whom were armed, as they clashed with each other.
Leave a Reply