South Korea – Avoiding a crowd of demonstrators outside, authorities entered impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk’s complex on Friday (January 3) to carry out an unusual arrest order, only to be met by presidential security officers inside.
The Presidential Security Service (PSS), which has previously prevented investigators with a search warrant from entering Yoon’s office and official house, was not expected to attempt to prevent his detention.
A bus obstructing the driveway prevented the officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) vehicles from entering the premises right away. Later, several CIO officials walked past the bus and through an open gate, but they were moved after briefly encountering another bus and an armored vehicle farther up the road.
According to the media, the CIO and the accompanying police encountered military troops assigned to presidential protection as well as cordons of PSS officers once they entered the compound.
The PSS is in-charge of the troops, according to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense.
However, without providing further details, Yoon’s attorney stated in a statement released on Friday that it is illegal to execute an illegitimate arrest order against Yoon and that they will pursue legal action.
Due to his attempt to impose martial law on Dec. 3, which shocked South Korea, one of the most dynamic democracies in the region and Asia’s fourth-largest economy, Yoon is being investigated for insurrection.
For a sitting South Korean president, meanwhile, it would be the first arrest ever.