Impeached South Korean president's lawyers slam detention efforts as acting leader warns of clash

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lawyers for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was impeached for briefly imposing martial law, have denounced efforts to detain him. Meanwhile, South Korea’s acting leader voiced concern Wednesday over possible clashes between law enforcement officers and the president’s security personnel.

As anti-corruption officials and police prepared to make another attempt to detain Yoon — after a failed effort last week — the president’s security service fortified Yoon’s residence with barbed wire and blocked roads leading to his home with rows of tightly parked vehicles. The Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Office and police said they would try harder to detain Yoon, warning they could arrest the president’s security personnel if they obstruct the arrest of the embattled president.

The office, which is conducting a joint investigation with police and the military, has been seeking to detain Yoon since he repeatedly ignored summons for questioning about whether his brief power grab on Dec. 3 constituted a rebellion. In a news conference, Yoon’s lawyers questioned the legality of a new detention warrant issued by the Seoul Western District Court on Tuesday, arguing the anti-corruption agency lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges or order police to detain a suspect.

Yoon Kap-geun, one of Yoon’s lawyers, urged the anti-corruption agency to either indict the president or seek a formal arrest warrant, which requires a court hearing. However, he said the president would only comply with an arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court, accusing the agency of deliberately choosing the Western District Court because it allegedly has a judge favorable to them. When asked if the president would attend a hearing at the Central District Court on an arrest warrant, he gave no clear answer, saying security issues must be resolved first.

“People are suffering in the cold, and government officials are certainly experiencing severe internal conflicts,” the lawyer said, referring to daily protests by Yoon’s critics and supporters near his residence. “Please consider this as us taking a step back out of goodwill.” The liberal opposition Democratic Party, which pushed for the president’s impeachment on Dec. 14, accused his lawyers of trying to delay the process and urged the anti-corruption agency to swiftly execute the detention warrant issued for him.

About 150 anti-corruption agency investigators and police tried to detain Yoon at his residence on Friday but retreated after a tense standoff with the president’s security service that lasted more than five hours. Investigators have not tried to detain him again. Police have said they are considering “all available options” to detain Yoon and haven’t publicly ruled out the possibility of deploying a special police task force, although it’s unclear whether investigators would risk a clash with the equally armed presidential security forces.

At a government meeting on Wednesday, South Korea’s acting president, Deputy Prime Minister Choe Sang-mok, urged authorities to ensure that “no citizens are hurt or physical clashes occur between government agencies” in any attempt to detain Yoon. In a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Oh Dong-woon, chief prosecutor of the anti-corruption agency, criticized Choe for directing police to follow the presidential security service’s requests to reinforce security at Yoon’s residence ahead of Friday’s detention attempt. Police did not carry out Choe’s instructions, and Oh said the agency is reviewing whether Choe’s actions constitute obstruction of justice.

Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach him on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion, following his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 and deployment of troops to surround the National Assembly for several hours. Lawmakers who managed to break through the blockade voted to lift the measure. The Constitutional Court has begun deliberations on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.