Seoul, Jan 15 (EFE).- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, suspended from office for briefly declaring martial law in December, was arrested Wednesday after he agreed to leave his home, where he has been barricaded for weeks, to appear before the authorities.
“President Yoon has decided to appear personally before the Office for Corruption Cases of Senior Officials,” the legal team said in a statement, hours after security forces accessed the residential compound to execute an arrest warrant imposed on the president.
Authorities moved in at about 5:20am Wednesday (20:20 GMT Tuesday) to Yoon’s residence to try to proceed with the arrest for the second time, following the failed attempt earlier this month.
Their first attempts were blocked by the human chain formed by the presidential security services and the lines of vehicles they placed around the compound.
Several hours later, investigators gained access to the compound using stairs and had been negotiating with representatives of the deposed president to carry out the order.
“Since early morning, (anti-corruption officials) and police have been advancing in force toward the compound of the presidential residence, announcing plans to carry out mass arrests. There have also been reports of injuries suffered by citizens outside the compound,” the president’s legal representatives said.
The team added that given the presidential security service’s “determination” to prevent any attempt to arrest Yoon, “it is clear that any physical confrontation between the security team and the police could lead to serious and unavoidable incidents.”
They said this is what led the president to surrender, despite considering his arrest attempt to be “illegal.”
Yoon’s lawyers said they expect a few hours to before the appearance, until the situation calms down.
Yoon is being investigated by the anti-corruption office, the police and the defense ministry for an alleged crime of insurrection linked to his declaration of martial law last month.
Police, which has deployed some 3,000 officers for Wednesday’s operation and cordoned off the area, issued successive messages over a loudspeaker warning those who prevent the execution of the arrest order that they could be arrested for obstructing the law.
Some 6,500 Yoon ers also gathered around the compound, while about 30 parliamentarians from the ruling People’s Power Party also moved to the outskirts of the presidential residence to protest the arrest order.
Yoon had been hiding in his residence since parliament dismissed him on Dec. 14 following his failed martial law declaration. EFE
co-mra/lds
