Thousands of rival South Korean protesters rallied in the capital yesterday, a day after a failed attempt to arrest suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for imposing a short-lived martial law decree that led to his impeachment.
The country has been plunged into political chaos since last month, with Yoon defiantly holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by hundreds of loyal security officers who have so far resisted efforts by prosecutors to arrest him.
Thousands of protesters, both for and against Yoon, gathered in front of the residence and along major roads in Seoul yesterday — either demanding his arrest or calling for his impeachment to be declared invalid.
Photo: AFP
Supporter Kim Chul-hong, 60, said Yoon’s arrest could undermine South Korea’s security alliance with the US and Japan.
“Protecting President Yoon means safeguarding our country’s security against threats from North Korea,” he said.
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, South Korea’s largest umbrella union, attempted to march to Yoon’s residence to protest against him, but were blocked by police. It said two of its members were arrested, and several others were injured in clashes.
Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.
If the warrant is executed, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
Investigators have asked South Korean Minister of Finance Choi Sang-mok, who was installed as acting president a week ago, to back the warrant by ordering the presidential security service to cooperate.
In scenes of high drama on Friday, Yoon’s guards and military troops shielded him from investigators who eventually called off the arrest attempt, citing safety concerns.
The showdown — which reportedly included shoving, but no shots fired — left the warrant in limbo, with the court order set to expire tomorrow.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials could make another bid to arrest him before then.
However, if the warrant lapses, they may apply for another.
The South Korean Constitutional Court slated Jan. 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which if he does not attend would continue in his absence.
Former South Korean presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.
Yoon’s lawyers decried Friday’s arrest attempt as “unlawful and invalid,” and vowed to take legal action.
Experts said investigators could wait for greater legal justification before attempting to arrest the suspended president again.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS