Yoon of South Korea, who is being arrested for the first time due to martial law, promises to “fight until the end”

In a letter to supporters, South Korea’s ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol claimed he would “fight until the end” against authorities’ attempt to arrest him for imposing martial law for a brief period of time last month, according to a lawyer on Thursday.

The arrest’s timing, method, and potential opposition from the presidential security service, which has prevented investigators with a search warrant from entering Yoon’s office and official house, were all unknown.

Police clashed with Yoon supporters on Thursday as they attempted to block entry to his home by lying down in the road. Some protestors were violently removed by police when they issued dispersal orders, according to Reuters journalists.

To the hundreds of fans who had gathered outside his official residence late on Wednesday, Yoon wrote in the letter, “I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing.”

He said, “I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you,” in the letter, a picture of which Yoon’s lawyer Seok Dong-hyeon handed to Reuters.

According to the opposition Democratic Party, which controls the majority of parliament and spearheaded Yoon’s impeachment on December 14, the letter demonstrated Yoon’s delusions and his continued commitment to carrying out his “insurrection.”

In a statement, party spokesman Jo Seoung-lae said, “As if trying to stage insurrection wasn’t enough, he is now inciting his supporters to an extreme clash.”

On December 3, Yoon stunned the nation by declaring late at night that martial law will be imposed in order to break political impasse and drive out “anti-state forces.”

But within hours, 190 MPs had voted against Yoon’s directive, defying the police and military cordons. Yoon revoked his original ruling approximately six hours later.

Yoon may become the first sitting president to be arrested as part of investigations into claims that he planned an uprising by attempting to impose martial law after a court authorized an arrest order for him on Tuesday.

One of the few crimes to which a South Korean president is not immune is insurrection.

The arrest warrant must be executed by January 6 by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is in charge of a collaborative team of investigators that includes prosecutors and police.

The impeached president’s attorney, Yoon Kab-keun, has stated that the arrest warrant was unlawful and void since the CIO lacked the legal jurisdiction to request one under South Korean law.

Police personnel who attempt to detain Yoon on behalf of the CIO will be arrested by “the presidential security service or any citizens,” the lawyer said on Thursday, claiming that their power is restricted to crowd management and upholding public order.

At the same time, the Constitutional Court is hearing Yoon’s impeachment trial. The second hearing is scheduled for this Friday.

Yoon’s presidential duties have been suspended, and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has assumed the role of acting president pending the trial’s verdict.

Within sixty days, a new presidential election will take place if the court upholds the impeachment and removes Yoon from office.

After the conservative career prosecutor repeatedly refused to appear for interrogation in the criminal probe separate from the Constitutional Court trial, detectives issued a warrant for Yoon’s arrest and a search of his home and office.

A former defense minister who, according to officials, suggested that Yoon impose martial law has been charged with insurrection and will stand trial on January 16. For their alleged complicity, a few of the senior military leaders in charge of Seoul’s defense have also been charged.