South Korea set to renew efforts to detain impeached Yoon
January 6, 2025
Investigators trying to arrest suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have asked for an extension to the warrant that expires Monday.
Yoon remains holed up in his presidential residence in Seoul after last week's failed attempt to arrest the embattled leader.
Investigators working for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) tried to execute a court warrant for Yoon's arrest on Friday, after he ignored three summonses for questioning over his failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
On Monday afternoon, the anti-corruption agency confirmed that it had asked police to take over efforts to detain Yoon following the standoff with presidential security.
Questions over botched arrest effort
South Korea's anti-corruption agency has faced questions about its competence after failing to detain Yoon, and police have the resources to possibly make a more forceful attempt to arrest him.
Yoon's team of attorneys claim the agency's arrest warrant is illegal, saying there are no legal grounds for it to delegate certain parts of an investigation process to another agency.
Yoon's lawyers had submitted an objection to the warrants against the president on Thursday, but the Seoul Western District Court dismissed the challenge on Sunday.
Blinken in Seoul, but likely to avoid Yoon issue
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding talks on Monday in South Korea, seeking to encourage policy stability, including in Seoul's complicated relationship with Japan.
Blinken met with South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok and reiterated the United States' "unwavering" defense commitment to the country, calling for close communication to deter against possible North Korea provocations, according to an official readout.
Washington's top diplomat is not scheduled to meet with Yoon, but he will hold a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, who is not under threat of impeachment.
Blinken is unlikely to take sides in the internal dispute, but the Biden administration has, until now, held Yoon in high regard.
Blinken is in the midst of what is expected to be his last overseas trip while in office, visiting Japan, France and South Korea before returning to Washington.
jsi/kb (dpa, AFP)