New arrest warrant against Yoon in an increasingly polarized climate

The anti-graft agency investigating the attempt to impose martial law continues to face resistance from police and lawyers for Yoon, who has refused to be questioned three times. Meanwhile, the parliamentary impeachment commission (controlled by the opposition) wants to speed up the hearing before the Constitutional Court.

Seoul (/Agencies) – More than a month after the beginning of the political crisis in South Korea, the government and the opposition still do not seem capable of overcoming the deadlock over the fate of former president Yoon Suk-yeol, accused of proclaim martial law on the night of December 3. This morning Oh Dong-woo, head of the Corruption Investigation Office of Senior Officials (CIO), apologized for failing to execute the arrest warrant against the former president, but promised that another attempt would be made. He made these statements before the parliamentary committee that is dealing with the impeachment process, scheduled for a week from now.

On January 3, hundreds of anti-corruption agency officials clashed with Yoon’s presidential guards for approximately six hours, preventing the former prime minister’s arrest. So far, Yoon has ignored summons to appear in court for questioning. After the capture attempt, his residence was barricaded, surrounded by barbed wire and is constantly guarded by hundreds of agents. Investigators had asked police to execute the arrest warrant, but officers refused to carry out the operation, stating that it was a legally controversial issue.

Yoon’s effective imprisonment will depend on the next measures taken by the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Office, which, although it has already decided to issue a new arrest warrant, has not communicated the validity period of the measure. Justice could allow IOC officials to detain Yoon for up to 20 days. But, according to observers, the security obstacle would persist, and the acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has not given in to pressure from the opposition – which has controlled the Legislative Assembly, South Korea’s Parliament, since April last year – to fire police officers and government officials who oppose Yoon’s arrest.

The resistance of the members of the Popular Power Party is supported by the lawyers of the former head of Government, according to whom the arrest order is “illegal”, because the investigators do not have the authority to carry out a criminal process for insurrection, the accusation what has been done to the former president. At the same time, the chief of staff in charge of the presidential security He said Yoon must remain in office until the Constitutional Court rules on his impeachment. The opposition Democratic Party has accused the security services of having become Yoon’s “private militia.”

To speed up the legal process, the parliamentary committee monitoring the case declared today that the charge of insurrection against Yoon will be removed from the impeachment process and left to be decided through criminal law. The impeachment trial, however, will begin on January 14 and will also take place in the absence of the president, a circumstance that was actually verified in 2004 and 2016 with the impeachment of former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye. Constitutional Court judges will have a maximum of 180 days to decide whether to remove Yoon or return his powers.

Meanwhile, public opinion appears increasingly polarized: Over the weekend hundreds of demonstrators braved a heavy snowfall to protest against and for Yoon, who in recent weeks has galvanized his supporters by vowing to “fight to the end.” Yesterday, PPP deputies gathered in front of the former president’s residence and the police were forced to intervene by blocking the access roads.

The situation is also beginning to worry South Korea’s allies, particularly the United States, which has so far worked to restore diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo in an attempt to counter Beijing. According to experts, Washington, which will soon see the return of Donald Trump to the White House, has no intention of becoming involved in internal political affairs and maintains the fight against the expansion of Chinese influence as a priority in the region. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that he had “full confidence” in the institutions and people of South Korea to resolve the crisis.