South Korea's Anti-Corruption Agency Receives New Warrant to Detain Impeached President Yoon

Seoul: South Korea’s anti-corruption agency has announced that it has obtained a new court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. This follows a previous attempt that was blocked by the presidential security service last week.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) did not immediately provide details on the duration of the warrant’s validity. The agency is continuing its efforts to pursue the case against Yoon despite the earlier obstacles.

The Seoul Western District Court had initially issued the detention warrant, along with a separate warrant to search Yoon’s residence. This legal action came after Yoon defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning regarding a December 3 martial law decree.

Dozens of anti-corruption agency investigators and assisting police officers attempted to detain Yoon on Friday but retreated from his residence in Seoul after a tense standoff with the presidential security service that lasted more than five hours. The investigators did not make another attempt to detain Yoon before the previous court warrants expired on Monday.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, has resisted investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. The last time he is known to have left the residence was on Dec. 12, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, making a defiant statement that he will fight efforts to oust him.

Investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency are weighing charges of rebellion after Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law on Dec. 3 and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly.

Parliament overturned the declaration within hours in an unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion, while South Korean anti-corruption authorities and public prosecutors opened separate investigations into the events.

(with agency inputs)