Law enforcement officials yesterday requested a court warrant to detain impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant from the Seoul Western District Court. They plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion.
Yoon Kap-keun, the president’s lawyer, denounced the detention attempt and filed a challenge with the same court, arguing that the warrant request is invalid. He also claimed the anti-corruption agency lacked the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges.
Photo: AFP
However, he evaded answering how the legal team would respond if the court approved the warrant for the president’s detainment.
“An incumbent president cannot be prosecuted for abuse of power,” the lawyer said. “Of course, there are differing academic opinions on whether a president can be investigated for abuse of power and some assert that investigations are possible, but even when investigations are allowed, the prevailing opinion is that they should be exercised with the utmost restraint.”
The anti-corruption agency did not immediately respond to the lawyer’s comments.
Han Min-soo, spokesperson of the opposition Democratic Party, called for the court to issue the warrant, saying Yoon Suk-yeol’s detainment would be the first step toward “ending the rebellion and restoring normalcy.”
The warrant request came after Yoon Suk-yeol dodged several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and also blocked searches of his offices.
While Yoon Suk-yeol has presidential privilege of immunity from criminal prosecution, such protections do not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.
It is not clear whether the court would grant the warrant or whether Yoon Suk-yeol can be compelled to appear for questioning.
Locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge and it is unlikely that Yoon Suk-yeol would voluntarily leave his residence if he faces detention. There are also concerns about possible clashes with the presidential security service if authorities attempt to forcibly detain him.
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