South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a new arrest attempt for declaring martial law, according to Reuters.
The Presidential Security Service (PSS) this week fortified the compound with barbed wire and barricades to block access to his residence in an upscale neighbourhood known as Korea’s Beverly Hills.
Yoon faces criminal investigation for so-called insurrection over his failed attempt to impose martial law on 3 December. The move led to the issuance of the first arrest warrant for a sitting president. He also faces an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court.
On Wednesday, one of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-keun, said the president could not agree to the arrest warrant as it was issued by a court of the wrong jurisdiction, with the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) having no authority to probe him.
On Tuesday, Oh Dong-woon, head of the CIO for High-ranking Officials, apologised for failing to arrest the president last week after a six-hour standoff with hundreds of PSS agents and military guards at the compound.
We’ll do our best to accomplish our goal by thoroughly preparing this time with great determination that the second warrant execution will be the last.
In last week’s attempted arrest, the police and CIO were outnumbered by over 200 PSS personnel, some of whom had firearms, as well as soldiers assigned to provide security for the president.
