Today, thousands of protesters in South Korea braved a snowstorm to voice their opposition against suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, who continues to resist arrest following a botched martial law attempt, less than 48 hours before the warrant’s expiration.
Last month, Mr. Yoon threw the country into political turmoil with his failed martial law declaration, and he has since remained holed up in the presidential residence, flanked by hundreds of loyal security personnel resisting attempts to apprehend him.
Thousands gathered yesterday outside his residence and along major roads in Seoul, just a day after a failed arrest attempt, with one faction demanding Mr. Yoon’s arrest while another insisted that his impeachment should be declared invalid.
Despite unforgiving winter conditions that blanketed the capital in snow, Pro-Yoon supporters rallied again outside his residence on Sunday, while an anti-Yoon demonstration was scheduled to start at 2 PM local time (5 AM Irish time).
Pro-Yoon supporters massed in front of his home despite bitter snow conditions.
The suspended leader is facing charges of insurrection, one of the few offenses not covered by presidential immunity, which could lead to a prison sentence or, in the most severe case, the death penalty.
If the arrest warrant is executed, Mr. Yoon would make history as the first sitting South Korean president to be apprehended.
Blinken wades in.
The opposition Democratic Party of Korea has called for the disbandment of the security service that is protecting Yoon after investigators encountered a barricade of hundreds of security personnel obstructing their access to him.
“The Presidential Security Service has violated the constitution, effectively positioning itself as an insurrectionist force,” remarked floor leader Park Chan-dae in parliament.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is looking into the martial law declaration, along with the opposition, urged acting president Choi Sang-mok—who has been in office for just a week and is a party ally of Mr. Yoon—to instruct the presidential security service to cooperate.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Seoul later, where he is expected to carefully advocate for the continuity of policies, but not the tactics, of the impeached president.
Read more: South Korea’s month of political chaos.
On Friday, Mr. Yoon’s legal team condemned the arrest attempt as “unlawful and invalid,” pledging to take legal action.
In dramatic scenes, Mr. Yoon’s security personnel and military troops formed a barrier between him and investigators, who ultimately canceled Friday’s arrest due to safety concerns.
People protesting against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The Constitutional Court has set 14 January for the commencement of Mr. Yoon’s impeachment trial, which will proceed in his absence if he does not attend.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has a period of up to 180 days to decide whether to dismiss Mr. Yoon as president or to restore his powers.
In the meantime, while suspended, Mr. Yoon retains the title of president.
Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never attended their impeachment trials.
