SEOUL: An unidentified man set himself on fire near South Korea’s corruption investigation office where impeached President Yoon Seok-yul is being questioned on coup charges, following his brief martial law. He died after the promulgation of the law. Yonhap News Agency Reported
The man set himself on fire shortly after 8pm local time (1100 GMT), the news agency added, citing police. Firefighters rushed him to the hospital, but he later succumbed to his burns.
Reuters Police or fire services could not immediately be reached for comment.
An official of the fire station said that the incident took place a few kilometers away from the research building, but there were no specific details.
According to one, at least three fire engines and an ambulance, sirens blaring, drove past the anti-graft offices after 8 p.m. Reuters witness
Hundreds of people protesting Yun’s arrest, linked to his dramatic decision to declare martial law on December 3, which plunged the country into political crisis, were still outside the offices at the time of the incident.
Yoon remains under investigation after he was arrested and questioned by authorities on Wednesday in connection with a criminal coup investigation, and said he was only cooperating to avoid the torture he had allegedly committed. The investigation was declared illegal.
Since lawmakers voted to impeach and remove him from office after a brief declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, Yun has been holed up in his mountain residence, guarded by presidential security. A small force had thwarted earlier attempts at capture.
More than 3,000 police officers who marched on his residence early Wednesday agreed to come in for questioning after vowing to arrest him.
Yun said in a statement, referring to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), “I decided to respond to the CIO’s investigation – despite it being an illegal investigation.” “
A prosecutor accompanied Yoon in his car from his home in a district of Seoul known as Beverly Hills to the tough CIO offices, where he slipped out the back door, avoiding the media.
Authorities now have 48 hours to question Yoon, after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him.
However, Yoon is refusing to talk and has not agreed to an interview with investigators recorded on video, a CIO official said.
The interrogation will continue after Yoon finishes his dinner of bean paste soup, the CIO official said, although it has not been decided whether it will last late into the night.
Yun’s lawyers have argued that the arrest warrant is illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team formed to investigate him had no legal authority to do so. .
A warrant to search Yoon at his residence, a copy of which was seen by Reutersis called the “leader of the rebellion”.