Failed arrest pushes South Korea into uncharted territory

The standoff began before dawn. As we arrived in the dark, an army of police had pushed back angry supporters of suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol, who had camped out overnight to avoid arrest. Some of those I spoke to were crying, others were crying, and what they feared was about to happen.

In the morning, the first police rushed to the house, but they were stopped immediately – they were blocked by a wall of soldiers protecting the square. More came, but it didn’t help. The doors of Yoon’s house were locked tightly, his security team refusing the police entry.

For several hours the searchers waited, the crowd outside growing bigger and bigger – until, after several arguments between the police and security officials, they decided their mission was futile, and gave up.

This is an area that has never been mentioned in South Korea. This is the first time a sitting president has been arrested, so there is no rule book to follow – but what is happening here is amazing.

When Yoon was impeached three weeks ago, he was supposed to have been removed from power. So having the police trying to make an arrest – who have a valid warrant – only to be thwarted by Yoon’s security team raises some difficult and uncomfortable questions about who is in charge here.

The detectives said they stopped trying to arrest Yoon not because it seemed impossible, but out of concern for their own safety. They said 200 soldiers and security officials joined forces, forming a human barricade to block the entrance to the President’s residence, some armed.

This is no doubt part of Yoon’s plan, to use the method he developed. Before declaring martial law last month – a plan we now know he cooked up months ago – he surrounded himself with close friends and loyalists, putting them in positions of power.

One of those people is the head of his security team, who took the job in September.

But as frightening as it is, this is not really surprising. Yoon has refused to cooperate with authorities in the investigation, ignoring all requests to come forward for questioning.

This is how things got to this point, investigators felt they had no choice but to bring him in by force. Yoon is being investigated for one of the most dangerous political crimes in existence: inciting terrorism, which is punishable by life in prison or death.

Yoon also encouraged his supporters, who have gathered outside his home every day since the arrest warrant was issued. He sent them a letter on New Year’s Day thanking them for their “hard work” in protecting him and the country.

While many in South Korea are frustrated and angry with Yoon’s decision to impose martial law, many of his supporters have remained loyal. Some even camped overnight, in the freezing cold, to try to prevent the police from reaching his home.

Many told me this morning that they were willing to die to protect Yoon, repeating the absurd theories that Yoon himself floated – that last year’s elections were rigged, and the country was infiltrated by pro-North Korean forces. They carried placards that read “Stop stealing,” a phrase they repeated over and over again.

Interest is also on South Korean President Choi Sang-mok, and how his power is growing; whether he can and should remove the president’s security chief and force the group to allow his arrest. The opposition party said the police should arrest anyone who stands in their way.

Although investigators have until January 6 to attempt a re-arrest – this is when the document expires – it is unlikely that they will re-enter without changing their methods or consulting with the security team in advance. They will want to avoid repeating the current failure.

They must also contend with Yoon’s hordes of supporters, who now feel victorious and empowered. They believe that they are the ones who caused the government officials to go up. “We’ve won, we’ve done it,” they’ve been chanting all afternoon.

As their confidence grows, so do their numbers, especially as the weekend approaches.