Yoon’s arrest attempt is rejected by South Korea’s presidential security head as the deadline approaches

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s security chief stated on Sunday that he could not assist with attempts to apprehend the impeached leader, a statement that may escalate the political turmoil into yet another high-stakes conflict.

The official, Park Chong-jun, blamed the lack of cooperation on the legal dispute surrounding the warrant, which is slated to expire at midnight (1500 GMT) on Monday and calls for Yoon’s arrest on insurrection.

“Please refrain from insulting remarks that the presidential security service has been reduced to a private army,” he said in a statement, adding that the force has been protecting all presidents for 60 years, irrespective of their party affiliation.

Following a Seoul court’s decision to dismiss Yoon’s attorneys’ lawsuit that the arrest warrant was unlawful and void, the Yonhap news agency made the remarks. Court phone calls for comment were not returned.

“Judging the legitimacy of any legal interpretation and execution is difficult,” Yoon’s attorney, Seok Dong-hyeon, posted on Facebook.
“If there is an error in the legality of law enforcement against the incumbent president, it will be a big problem.”

Yoon was the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested for his disastrous effort to impose martial law on December 3, which led to political unrest in the fourth-largest economy in Asia and a crucial ally of the United States.

The Constitutional Court is deliberating whether to reinstate or remove the conservative president, who was impeached by parliament and is currently suspended from office.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to travel to Seoul for meetings with top authorities.

Yoon was in a six-hour standoff with military forces and his presidential security agency on Friday, preventing criminal investigators from making an arrest.

Park said in his statement on Sunday that it was “preposterous” that the Democratic Party, the main opposition party, had accused him of ordering presidential security agents to fire live bullets if they were “caught short” during Friday’s standoff.

Because the anti-graft force in charge of Yoon’s criminal inquiry is not authorized by South Korean law to look into any case including allegations of insurrection, Yoon’s attorneys have claimed that the warrant was unlawful.

The attorneys vowed to report the investigators and prosecutors Oh Dong-woon, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), for what they described as an unlawful attempt to carry out the order without the necessary permission in a statement released on Sunday.

A request for comment from the CIO was not immediately answered.

IN HEAVY SNOW, RALLIES

The warrant disagreement occurred when hundreds of demonstrators demonstrated in the capital, Seoul, near Yoon’s official residence in the midst of heavy snow. Some rallies called for his arrest, while others opposed it.

“Punishing the president who has denied the constitution is necessary to re-establish the foundation of our society,” stated Yang Kyung-soo, the leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a significant labor organization that participated in the demonstrations.

“We must bring down the criminal Yoon Suk Yeol and arrest and detain him as soon as possible.”

According to Yonhap, security guards erected barbed wire inside the compound and used buses to erect barricades on Saturday.

Nearby, fans of Yoon hoisted signs that read, “Stop the Steal” and “We will fight for President Yoon Suk Yeol,” slogans made popular by supporters of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump following his loss in the 2020 election.

While temperatures in downtown Seoul dropped below – 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit), some demonstrators had congregated there overnight.

A warning was issued after more than 6 cm (2.4 inches) of snow accumulated in some places.

Police detained two demonstrators at similar gatherings on Saturday on suspicion of attacking cops, according to Yonhap.

The CIO requested once more that day that the finance minister, acting President Choi Sang-mok, direct the security service to abide by the arrest warrant.

A representative for the Finance Ministry chose not to comment. According to a statement released by the ministry on Sunday, Choi asked officials to ensure that efforts to apply the law would not cause harm to anyone.