In an unprecedented move, South Korea’s anti-corruption agency has called upon the national police to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, after its own investigators were unable to detain him during a tense standoff with his presidential security detail last week.
Both the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) and the police confirmed the request on Monday, just hours before the one-week detention warrant for Yoon was set to expire at midnight (1500 GMT).
The attempt to arrest Yoon follows his failed effort to declare martial law on December 3, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest. The Seoul Western District Court issued warrants last Tuesday for his detention and a search of his residence. However, the warrants have been difficult to execute while Yoon remains within the secure confines of his official residence.
Police officials indicated that the CIO is likely to seek a new court warrant to extend the deadline for Yoon’s detention. The request is currently under internal review, and it remains uncertain whether authorities will attempt another arrest before the current warrant expires at midnight.
Park Chong-jun, the chief of security for the impeached president, stated on Sunday that he could not comply with the arrest efforts due to ongoing legal debates surrounding the warrant. He defended the presidential security service’s longstanding tradition of protecting all South Korean presidents, regardless of political stance, and urged against portraying the service as a \
