January 9, 2025
Seoul – Authorities are facing growing pressure to detain President Yoon Seok-yeol for questioning after a failed attempt on Friday and a subsequent extended arrest warrant.
The court on Tuesday approved the extension of the warrant for Yoon's arrest, giving the Office for the Investigation of Senior Officials Corruption, a key agency in the joint investigative team, and police more time to strategize when and how to make a second attempt.
Chief Prosecutor Oh Dong-woon told members of Congress that day that the agency and police were determined to detain the suspended president if their next attempt was “the last.”
However, despite their renewed resolve, the circumstances surrounding their mission have changed. Authorities now face a challenge from Yin's lawyers challenging the validity of the arrest warrant. On Wednesday, Yoon's lawyer Yoon Jia-geun argued that the president cannot comply with an “invalid arrest warrant.”
Yoon called on the information chief to either seek an arrest warrant requiring a court hearing (existing types can be issued by courts without a hearing) or let prosecutors prosecute the president. Both demands were widely seen as ploys to stall the process. Prosecutors have the sole authority to prosecute suspects.
The legal team also said the CIO's jurisdiction lies with the Seoul Central District Court, not the Seoul Western District Court where the arrest warrant was issued, and that any request made there would be unacceptable.
In addition to Yin's defense, there have been significant changes since Friday in the circumstances surrounding authorities' efforts to detain Yin. Below is a list of major developments.
Deadline extended
Although the exact period for which the warrant was extended remains unknown, it is believed to be beyond the usual seven-day period.
The CIO told reporters before the warrant was set to expire on Monday that the agency would ask for an extension of seven days or more, suggesting the warrant would remain in effect longer than previously.
Wu also said that this extension of the arrest warrant will be kept confidential to increase the chance of successful execution.
“When the Presidential Security Bureau and protesters let down their guard, investigative authorities may execute arrest warrants,” prosecutor-turned-lawyer Lee Dong-hyun told The Korea Herald
In Lee's view, the chief information officer believed he could not use force to overwhelm the Presidential Security Service personnel, so he may look for strategic loopholes, while the police put pressure on the Presidential Security Service by seeking obstruction of official duties charges.
Presidential residence transformed into fortress
Although authorities have promised to be fully prepared for Yin's detention this time, it appears increasingly difficult to actually carry out the plan. The presidential palace has been effectively turned into a fortress by police officers, with barricades erected and barbed wire installed.
On Friday, the PSS used a bus and a human wall of approximately 200 PSS and military personnel to thwart attempts to detain Yin. Since then, it has beefed up its defenses, adding six more buses to block the road from the gate to the presidential palace.
Rows of barbed wire have also been installed near Yin's official residence to block investigators and police, and the iron gate leading to the president's residence on the top of the mountain has been reinforced with multiple steel chains to further strengthen the perimeter.
Park Jong-joon, the police chief, accused the bureau of obstructing official duties by obstructing authorities from executing the warrant and arresting Yoon, despite a police subpoena issued on January 4.
Park Geun-hye claimed in a video statement on Monday that her priority was the president's safety and that he could not abandon his duties because of legal disputes and irregularities regarding the arrest warrant.
Park and PSS Deputy Chief Kim Sung-hoon also refused to comply with two summonses on Saturday and Tuesday and Saturday and Wednesday, respectively.
The rallies are getting bigger and bigger
Meanwhile, violent overnight rallies near the presidential palace have grown in size, posing major challenges for authorities. They must ensure the safety of demonstrators while trying to serve arrest warrants.
Tensions between the president's supporters and opponents escalated when arrest warrants were reissued on Tuesday, with both sides attracting more protesters.
While nearly 3,000 members of the New Freedom Alliance, a conservative pro-Yin organization, attended the rally, chanting “Invalid impeachment” and “Protect Yoon Seok-yeol,” a total of 6,000 anti-Yin protesters, including Candle members, acted, scheduled to Make their voices heard on Wednesday.
Yin's supporters continued to rally after midnight after a court extended the arrest warrant on Tuesday.
On January 3, authorities attempted to arrest Yin, and police had previously deployed about 2,700 personnel at the rally site to prevent possible clashes.
Yin's whereabouts
Questions are mounting about President Yoon's whereabouts, with some expressing doubts about whether he is actually at the presidential palace in Hannam-dong.
Democratic Rep. Park Beom-kye of South Korea raised the issue during a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, asking whether the suspended president was at his official residence.
The congressman suggested that Yoon could be elsewhere, perhaps at the residence of the defense secretary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the army chief of staff.
Democratic Rep. Ahn Gyu-back also revealed that he received a report from an anonymous PSS official that the president had left his residence, which he shared on a local radio show Wednesday morning.
However, Cheong Wa Dae denied these claims, and the Hankyoreh reported that the president was still at the presidential palace.
Yin's lawyer Yin told reporters on Wednesday that he met with the president at the presidential residence yesterday.
Other options: Target PSS leader, Special Operations Forces, Helicopter
After a court issued a second arrest warrant for Yoon on Tuesday, police are considering arresting the leadership of the Presidential Security Agency first.
Previous attempts to detain Yoon failed due to PSS blocking entry. Police are particularly focused on arresting Park Jong-joon, the director of the Public Security Bureau. Although an intention to arrest Park was expressed during the first attempt, the plan was scrapped after the Chief Information Officer objected.
Police may seek an arrest warrant for the Socialist Party leader before pursuing Yoon. On Tuesday, they issued a third subpoena for Parker to appear in court by Friday, after rejecting it twice before citing a lack of legal representation. If Parker fails to comply, authorities may seek a warrant for his arrest.
After a failed attempt to arrest Yoon led to a five-hour standoff, police are now strategizing to deploy as many personnel and equipment as possible to secure access to his home while serving a second arrest warrant.
Police are reportedly considering deploying a helicopter over Yin's residence to quickly send personnel into the building to arrest Yin, as well as speculation about deploying a police special operations unit. The possibility of using special police vehicles or armored vehicles to break through the roadblocks currently in place around the residence was also mentioned.
