Yoon Suk Yeol defiant as arrest deadline looms

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been suspended from his newly fenced seat, with an arrest warrant issued for him. a long-term military plan expires on Monday.

Yoon’s security team, which stopped the investigators who arrested him on Friday, installed barbed wire and barricaded the stadium with buses over the weekend, to prevent further attempts.

Yoon ignored several subpoenas for questioning about gangs and abuse of power, before investigators came to his home – but they suspended their operation after a six-hour standoff with the president’s security.

Researchers may try to increase their consent. They told the BBC that they had called for the police to be killed, hoping that their efforts would gain more weight.

Public anger has grown in recent weeks, with thousands of protesters snowballing over the weekend, both in support of and against Yoon.

South Korea has been in crisis for the past month, since Yoon tried to impose martial law citing a threat from the North and “anti-government forces”. This continues as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Seoul, seeking stability in the presidency of Donald Trump.

Time is running out for the investigators leading the case against Yoon.

Yoon’s lawyers have argued that his arrest warrant was “illegal” as anti-corruption investigators did not have the authority to handle a case as serious as treason.

This fact – and the fact that Yoon is still the acting president before the impeachment court upheld his impeachment – has been cited by the President’s security team in preventing Yoon’s arrest.

“For the PSS, whose main objective is the protection of the President, following the issuance of an arrest warrant amid the ongoing conflict, would be like resigning,” security chief Park Jong-joon said on Sunday. denied claims that his group was operating as Yoon’s “secret army”.

Yoon’s lawyers, who on Monday filed a complaint with investigators seeking his arrest, said Yoon would be “locked in his house”.

They had also filed a motion to challenge the decision, which the court rejected, although they said they were considering appealing the decision.

Meanwhile, acting president Choi Sang-mok has rejected the opposition’s request to remove security officials who are obstructing the arrests.

The BBC understands that opposition lawmakers have asked investigators to try again to arrest Yoon, but “with courage and with sufficient means”.

Investigators can also use a new warrant, which must be approved by a judge. That would allow Yoon to be detained for up to 20 days, while the arrest warrant only allows him to be detained for 48 hours.

But without a change in the situation or their approach, it seems that neither the investigators nor the police will be able to make an arrest.

As we saw last Friday, they can also be blocked by the President’s security who created a “wall of people” to protect Yoon. He himself vowed to “fight to the end”, which has divided people and encouraged his supporters, who have been demonstrating for days outside his home.

Temporary stands are also available he asked questions quickly about the strength and effectiveness of South Korea’s political and legal system.

And it has implications beyond domestic politics.

Until last month, the Biden administration sang Yoon’s praises, cheering his willingness to work with Washington to counter security threats posed by North Korea and China. The US has made great efforts to help South Korea repair the broken relationship with Japan, so that the three countries can deal with these problems together.

So Mr Blinken’s ongoing visit to Seoul, where he will meet South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Monday, comes at a critical time for the two allies.

Yoon did not tell the US about his plans to impose martial law, meaning Washington had no chance to stop him and was unprepared for the chaos that ensued.

Blinken would not want to be influenced by the current political situation. Instead they want to focus on maintaining the trilateral alliance between Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo beyond the Biden era.

But it is difficult to separate domestic and political events. South Korea may be months away from electing a new president, who may seek to reverse Yoon’s foreign policy.

Likewise, Trump, who enters the White House in two days, will follow suit.

Additional reporting by Hosu Lee and Leehyun Choi in Seoul