South Korean investigators on Wednesday tried to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, using ladders to enter his residence compound in Seoul after clashes broke out when his guards blocked the main gate, news agency Reuters reported.
The investigators also arrested Kim Sung-hoon, the acting chief of the Presidential Security Service, for blocking their initial attempt to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
Yoon Suk Yeol has resisted arrest since a short-lived December 3 power grab plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades, after he directed soldiers to storm Parliament in a bid to stop lawmakers from voting down his move.
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The former star prosecutor, who has already been suspended from duty by lawmakers, would become the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested if the court-ordered warrant is carried out, news agency AFP reported.
“The execution of the presidential arrest warrant has begun,” acting President Choi Sang-mok confirmed in a statement. “This situation is a crucial moment for maintaining order and the rule of law in South Korea,” he added.
In a morning of high drama in Seoul, an unarmed team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) and police officers tried to enter the residential compound but were blocked by unidentified personnel at the entrance gate, AFP reported.
Investigators were involved in clashes with those defending the residence, the report added.
Around 20 personnel, believed to be investigators, then climbed ladders into Yoon’s residential compound, AFP reported citing TV footage.
“police” and “CIO” were also seen marching up the roads leading to Yoon’s hillside residence, holding ladders after entering the compound from at least two different entrances.
Yoon’s lawyer, Seok Dong-hyeon, wrote on Facebook that negotiations were underway for the president to voluntarily appear because of the “risk of a serious situation” between the rival forces.
At least one person was injured during the standoff. They were transported away by fire authorities.
Yoon’s lawyers were earlier seen in front of the residence protesting the arrest warrant’s execution, while a white police van later tried to enter the compound without success.
Investigators were also attempting to enter the residence via an alternative mountain hiking trail, Yonhap News TV reported.
As they moved in on Yoon’s residence, police arrested the acting head of the presidential guard, Kim Seong-hun, on Wednesday, Yonhap added.
The main road in front of Yoon’s residence was completely blocked off with police bus barricades early Wednesday, while thousands of his die-hard supporters massed outside.
(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)
