SEOUL: A South Kor­e­an court gave authorities approval on Tuesday to detain impeached Presi­dent Yoon Suk Yeol in a criminal investigation into his martial law dec­ree, marking the first time that a sitting president of the country has faced arrest.

The Corruption Invest­igation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) confirmed the Seoul Western District Court approved an arrest warrant requested by investigators examining Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law.

Yoon, who has been suspended from office, is facing an investigation on allegations that he was the lea­der of an insurrection, one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. Sep­a­rately, his trial on impeachment is being heard at the Constitutional Court.

The arrest warrant for an incumbent president is unprecedented, and deepens the political crisis that has engulfed South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key US ally.

Warrant gives investigators only 48 hours to hold Yoon after he is arrested

Prime Minister Han Du­c­­k-soo, who took over from Yoon as acting president, has also been impea­ched by parliament, which is dominated by the opposition.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who took over as acting president after Han’s impeachment, has been dealing with Sunday’s crash of Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which killed 179 people in the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.

The current arrest warrant is viable until Jan 6, and gives investigators only 48 hours to hold Yoon after he is arrested. Investigators must then decide whether to request a detention warrant or release him.

Yoon Kab-keun, a lawyer for the impeached president, said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid because the CIO did not have the authority under South Korean law to seek a warrant. He said the president’s legal team will file for an injunction at the Constit­utional Court to stop the warrant.

Hundreds of Yoon supporters gathered outside his residence on Tuesday to protest against the warrant, some tussling with police.

The district court issued the warrant due to the likelihood that Yoon will not respond to summons without a justifiable reason, and there being a substantial reason to suspect Yoon of a crime, Yonhap said. The court declined to comment.

It was unclear when or how the arrest warrant for Yoon will be carried out. South Korea’s presidential security service said in a statement on Tuesday that it will treat the arrest warrant according to due process.

So far, prosecutors have indicted three top defence officials in connection with Yoon’s martial law.

Former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, whose trial will hold its first hearing on Jan 16, as well as Yeo In-hyung, chief of Defence Counte­rintelligence Command and Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defence Command, have been indicted, with more expected to follow.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2025