SEOUL: Impeached South Korean President Yoon Seok-yul remained inside his residence for a third day on Thursday, resisting arrest, after vowing to let authorities question him over his failed martial law bid. Expressing determination to “fight”.
The embattled leader issued a scathing proclamation on December 3 that led to his impeachment and facing arrest, imprisonment or, at worst, the death penalty. Yun’s opponents camped outside his presidential residence on Thursday to fend off police, while members of his security team dramatically thwarted attempted police raids.
“We expect the CIO (Corruption Investigation Office) to enter through the main gate to arrest President Yoon, so our colleagues are currently lying down to stop them,” said pro-Yoon protester Ri Kang-san. said
Protesters were chanting “protect the president, protect, protect, protect”. As police tried to disperse people on the ground and control the crowd, which included an anti-Yon rally.
Yoon went to ground but remained unrepentant as the crisis escalated, issuing a defiant message in his twenty days before the arrest warrant expired on January 6.
“The Republic of Korea is currently under threat from internal and external forces that threaten its sovereignty, and from the activities of anti-state elements,” he said in a statement to protesters confirmed by his lawyer. said
“I pledge to fight by your side till the end to protect this nation,” he added, watching his protest on a YouTube live stream.
Yun’s lawyer confirmed to AFP that the impeached leader remained inside the presidential compound.
Opposition lawmakers were quick to condemn Yoon’s message as inflammatory, with Democratic Party spokesman Jo Seung-lee calling it a “deception” and accusing her of trying to incite clashes.
The ousted president’s legal team has filed for an injunction to block the warrant, calling Wednesday’s arrest order “illegal and wrongful.”
CIO chief Oh Dong-won warned that anyone trying to prevent authorities from arresting Yoon could face legal action themselves.
Along with the summons, a Seoul court issued search warrants for his official residence and other locations, a CIO official told AFP.
The Presidential Security Service’s official stance in responding to the warrant has been to follow procedure.
He cited two articles of South Korea’s Criminal Procedure Act that prohibit the seizure of official secrets from storage facilities without the consent of the person in charge.