Impeached South Korean President Defies Arrest Warrant As His Supporters Block Police

 The impeached South Korean conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, is defying an arrest warrant as his supporters stand between the police and his presidential compound in Seoul.

Yoon is accused of abusing his power when he sent shockwaves through the country on December 3 by declaring martial law. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials was granted an arrest warrant for Yoon by a Seoul court on Tuesday. The president was impeached last month after he declared martial law and dispatched the military to the National Assembly as lawmakers gathered to undo the martial law decree.

Thousands of Yoon’s supporters, some of them waving South Korean and American flags, have gathered near his residence this week where they voiced support for Yoon and blocked police from arresting the impeached president. Officers arrested some of the supporters who lay down on the road in front of Yoon’s residence.

Yoon addressed his supporters in a written message on Wednesday, vowing to “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces,” the Associated Press reported. Yoon’s lawyers warned on Thursday that law enforcement officers who attempt to arrest Yoon could be detained by the president’s security team or even by civilians. The president’s legal team argues that warrants for the arrest of Yoon and for the search of his residence violate the country’s constitution and criminal laws, according to the AP.

In Yoon’s message to supporters, he called out forces “violating our sovereignty” and thanked his supporters for fighting for “liberal democracy and constitutional order.” When he announced martial law last month, Yoon said it was necessary “to defend the free Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces and to eradicate the shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces.”

Yoon also cited an unworkable relationship with the opposition-led National Assembly, which had targeted 22 officials for impeachment since Yoon took office in 2022 and, according to Yoon, planned to target 10 more officials. The president also cited National Assembly reductions in the national budget, which he said “undermined the essential functions of the state and turned Korea into a drug paradise and a public order panic.”

The National Assembly voted 190-0 to end martial law shortly after it was declared. The Democratic Party’s floor leader Park Chan-dae has called for the immediate arrest of Yoon, arguing that the “presidential security service must cooperate with the lawful execution of the detainment warrant.”

“They should be aware that obstructing the execution of the detainment warrant could result in punishment for interference with official duties and complicity in rebellion,” he said.

Nine justices of South Korea’s Constitutional Court must determine whether to remove Yoon from office following his impeachment. Six justices must vote in favor of the impeachment for Yoon to be removed from office. Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended when he did not fill three Constitutional Court vacancies for the court to review his case. Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, the acting president, filled two of the court vacancies on Tuesday.