A South Korean court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law earlier this month, according to local media.
The Seoul Western District Court issued the warrant, allowing investigators to detain Yoon for questioning for 48 hours. After that, the investigators must file an additional warrant to continue detaining him. The arrest warrant is valid until January 6.
The court also approved a warrant to search Yoon’s official residence. The Joint Investigation Headquarters requested the warrants on Monday after Yoon failed to appear for his third summons to meet with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) for questioning.
The Joint Investigation Headquarters includes members of the CIO, the National Office of Investigation, and the Ministry of Defense. The team is currently investigating Yoon on charges of orchestrating an insurrection and abusing his power as president after he declared martial law in the country. Yoon allegedly ordered military commanders to dispatch troops to the National Assembly to arrest politicians. Under Article 84 of the South Korean Constitution, presidents are not immune from charges of insurrection during their time in office.
Yoon’s lawyers immediately denounced the court’s decision on Tuesday, filing an injunction with the Constitutional Court to suspend the arrest warrant. Yoon’s lawyer Yoon Kab Keun stated, “The arrest warrant and search and seizure warrant issued at the request of an agency without investigative authority are illegal and invalid.” The defense team claims that only the police, not the CIO, have the legal authority to investigate insurrection.
Yoon is the first South Korean president to be issued an arrest warrant while in office.
The president declared martial law on December 3 and claimed that the Democratic Party, the opposition party in control of the National Assembly, was aligned with North Korean communist forces. The military was immediately deployed, blocking the entrance to the National Assembly building.
Hours later, the National Assembly unanimously voted to lift the martial law order. The military and police then vacated the premises. The National Assembly impeached the president on December 14, finding that the declaration of martial law violated Article 77 of the country’s constitution. Article 77 states that martial law is limited to situations of war, armed conflict, or similar national emergencies.
Han Duck Soo, who became the nation’s acting president after Yoon’s suspension, was also impeached on December 27. The Democratic Party claimed Han obstructed justice and failed to fulfill his responsibilities when he refused to appoint three judges to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court, which is currently overseeing Yoon’s impeachment process.
Finance Minister Choi Sang Mok has since become the acting president and has stated that he will immediately fill the Constitutional Court vacancies.
Thousands of South Koreans have taken to the streets in protest over the past month, with some defending President Yoon and others demanding his removal from office. The Constitutional Court has until June 2025 to decide whether to uphold Yoon’s impeachment and remove him from office.
