A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for impeached and suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, investigators said on Tuesday, over his short-lived bid to impose martial law.
Yoon briefly suspended civilian rule on December 3, plunging South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.
He was stripped of his presidential duties by parliament over the action but a constitutional court ruling is pending on whether to confirm the impeachment.
“The arrest warrant and search warrant… were issued this morning,” the Joint Investigation Headquarters said in a statement.
The conservative leader faces criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
Investigators probing Yoon over his declaration of martial law requested the warrant on Monday after he failed to report for questioning a third time.
“There is a concern that the individual may refuse to comply with summons without justifiable reasons,” a Corruption Investigation Office official told reporters on Tuesday.
The official said there was “sufficient probable cause” to suspect the commission of a crime, with the warrant valid until January 6 and Yoon likely to be held at the Seoul detention centre.
Yoon’s lawyer called the warrant “illegal and invalid”, saying investigators lacked the authority to probe the president.
“The arrest warrant and search and seizure warrant issued at the request of an agency without investigative authority are illegal and invalid,” a statement sent to AFP by lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said.
He said his client was not guilty of insurrection, adding there was no intention of disrupting “the constitutional order” or to stage “an uprising”.
Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyers also said they would apply for a court injunction to invalidate the warrant.
Investigators also raided the army’s Counterintelligence Command offices on Tuesday and indicted two top commanders on charges they said were linked to insurrection and abuse of authority.
– Arrest? –
Hundreds of people had gathered in front of the president’s house by mid-afternoon Tuesday, mainly his supporters waving South Korean flags and chanting: “Martial law legal! Impeachment invalid!”.
Police were sent to the area in large numbers and could be seen shouting at protesters to keep in line.
“Up to 3,000 people will move to protest against the unfair and invalid arrest warrant,” said an official from the largest protest group supporting Yoon Suk Yeol.
Even though the warrant has been issued, it is unclear whether investigators and police will be able to execute it.
The Presidential Security Service (PSS) has previously refused to comply with three search warrants.
However, lawyer Yun Bok-nam, president of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, told AFP that while there was a legal basis for rejecting a search warrant, “there’s no such provision for arrest warrants”.
“I expect the (arrest) process will proceed smoothly,” he said.
Local media reported that an imminent arrest or search of the presidential residence was unlikely because investigators would seek to coordinate with the PSS.
Technically, anyone obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant could be arrested.
– Joint probe –
Yoon Suk Yeol is being investigated by prosecutors as well as a joint team comprising police, defence ministry and anti-corruption officials.
A 10-page prosecutors’ report seen by AFP stated that he authorised the military to fire weapons if needed to enter parliament during his failed martial law bid.
The report also said there was evidence that he had been discussing declaring martial law with senior military officials as early as March.
Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyer had previously dismissed the prosecutors’ report, telling AFP it was “a one-sided account that neither corresponds to objective circumstances nor common sense”.
The suspended president declared martial law in an unannounced televised address late on December 3, saying it was aimed at eliminating “anti-state elements”.
Lawmakers rushed to parliament within minutes of the declaration to vote it down.
At the same time, heavily armed troops stormed the building, scaling fences, smashing windows and landing by helicopter.
South Korea’s political turmoil deepened late last week when Yoon Suk Yeol’s replacement, Han Duck-soo, was also impeached by parliament for failing to sign bills for investigations into him.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has taken over as the new acting president and found himself thrust immediately into a disaster with the Jeju Air plane crash on Sunday that claimed 179 lives.
