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Yoon Suk Yeol on December 14, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea. AP South Korean justice issued, on Tuesday January 7, a new arrest warrant against the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, eagerly awaited by South Korean investigators to attempt a second time to apprehend the suspended head of state. his duties and holed up in his residence in Seoul with his close guard. “The renewed arrest warrant for suspect Yoon was issued today afternoon,” investigators announced in a statement. He is motivated by Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief attempt to impose martial law in the country. The first arrest warrant, issued on December 31, expired on Monday without the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) managing to seize Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning. On Friday, CIO investigators supported by police officers entered his residence. But they came up against around 200 soldiers and agents of the presidential security service (PSS) and retreated, empty-handed, after six hours of a tense face-to-face. The Democratic Party, the main opposition force, announced a complaint against the interim president, Choi Sang-mok, for “dereliction of duty”, after asking him in vain to order the PSS not to oppose upon arrest. Investigators refiled a request Monday evening with the Seoul West District Court to extend the arrest warrant. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In South Korea, the presidential guard prevents the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol Read later Inexperience of the IOC For Yun Bok-nam, president of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society association, the failure of the first attempt to arrest the president suspended from office is mainly explained by the inexperience of the IOC, which has only been in existence for four years, has fewer than 100 employees and has never indicted anyone. “Naturally, they have no experience with arrests, let alone the arrest of a president,” he insists. “Police cooperation is essential,” believes the lawyer. A dispute between services broke out on Monday, the IOC, citing its lack of experience in the matter, wishing to entrust the police alone with the task of seizing Yoon Suk Yeol, and the police responding that only the IOC was competent to do so. . Finally, the IOC recognized that it was up to it to apprehend the ex-prosecutor, and the police indicated that they would arrest the presidential bodyguards in case they obstructed the situation again. The IOC, the South Korean National Police and the Defense Ministry’s investigation department are jointly investigating Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law on December 3 and muzzle Parliament by sending in the army. The dismissed conservative president, whose political action was constantly hampered by a Parliament dominated by the opposition, said he wanted to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces” and “eliminate elements hostile to the state”. But he had to backtrack a few hours later, the deputies having managed to meet in a hemicycle surrounded by special forces to vote against martial law, while thousands of demonstrators gathered outside. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers South Korea: President Yoon Suk Yeol dismissed by the National Assembly Read later Dismissed on December 14 Yoon Suk Yeol was dismissed on December 14 by the National Assembly. He is also the target of a complaint for “rebellion”, a crime punishable by death, and “abuse of authority”, punishable by five years in prison. He vowed last week to “fight to the end”. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover Its lawyers contest the legality of the arrest warrant and the competence of the IOC. They argue that the law gives this body authority to investigate a specific series of offenses committed by high-ranking officials, but that the list does not include the crime of “rebellion.” Since he was threatened with arrest, hundreds of his supporters have camped day and night, in freezing temperatures, at the foot of the hill where his residence is perched. Before the new arrest warrant was issued, however, the pro-Yoon crowd was much sparser on Tuesday. Yoon Suk Yeol officially remains the head of state, and is only suspended until the Constitutional Court confirms or overturns his dismissal voted by the deputies. The court has until mid-June to rule and has set January 14 for the start of the impeachment trial, which in the event of his absence will continue without him. If it validates the impeachment, a snap presidential election will take place within two months. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In South Korea, a country ultra-connected to the Internet, YouTube channels are exacerbating the political crisis Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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Author : News7
Publish date : 2025-01-07 12:00:23
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