Detention warrant issued for Yoon over martial law, 1st issuance for sitting president
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks shortly after the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach him for his short-lived imposition of martial law, at his residence in Seoul, Dec. 14. Yonhap
A Seoul court on Tuesday issued a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law imposition, making him the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest.
The Seoul Western District Court approved a request from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to issue the warrant against Yoon on charges of masterminding the botched Dec. 3 martial law declaration, orchestrating the insurrection and abusing power, according to the CIO.
The court also approved a warrant to search Yoon's presidential residence in Seoul's Yongsan in connection with the investigation.
The CIO filed for the detention warrant after Yoon ignored all three summonses to appear for questioning over the short-lived martial law invocation.
A CIO official said the detention warrant is valid for a week, until next Monday, and that Yoon, once detained, may be held at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of Seoul.
The CIO has yet to decide when to execute the detention, the official said, adding that law enforcement typically does not coordinate the detention schedule with the suspect side in advance.
"Various circumstances could be considered (in the execution), but executing the warrant is the (primary) principle now that it has been issued," the official told reporters.
Once Yoon is taken into custody, the CIO is required to decide within 48 hours whether to file for an arrest warrant to detain him further for questioning or release him.
Yoon's defense team immediately issued a press release, saying it cannot accept the detention warrant and calling it "illegal and invalid" as it was issued following a request from an investigative body with no effective jurisdiction.
President Yoon Suk-yeol's legal representatives enters the Constitutional Court's small courtroom in Jongno District, Seoul, Dec. 27. Joint Press Corps
In issuing the warrants, the court rejected Yoon's claims that the CIO lacks jurisdiction over insurrection cases and that the warrant request was therefore illegal.
The court also dismissed Yoon's claims that he couldn't attend questioning sessions because arrangements for his personal safety and security detail, as the president, had not been made.
However, it remains unclear whether the CIO can detain Yoon, as the Presidential Security Service has blocked investigators from entering both the presidential office compound and Yoon's official residence to carry out recent court-approved searches, citing military security concerns.
Shortly after the court issued the warrant to detain Yoon, the Presidential Security Service said it would take measures to handle the warrant in accordance with legal process.
Although Yoon has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, by law, the privilege does not extend to insurrection or treason charges.
Yoon's defense team has argued the CIO lacks legal authority to investigate insurrection, a charge for which, in principle, police have investigative jurisdiction under the current system, amended during the previous government.
Oh Dong-woon, the CIO chief, has said that, unlike search warrants, a court-issued detention or arrest warrant cannot legally be obstructed, even by the president.
Yoon has been suspended from his duties after the opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14 over his imposition of martial law, which lasted six hours before it was overturned by a parliamentary vote.
The Constitutional Court has begun proceedings for deliberations to determine whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. It has 180 days from Dec. 14 to deliver its ruling. (Yonhap)