3-1-2025 (SEOUL) South Korean law enforcement authorities found themselves in an unprecedented confrontation with Presidential Security Service personals on Wednesday as they attempted to execute an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), accompanied by police and
prosecutors, gathered at the gates of Yoon’s central Seoul compound shortly after 7 am local time. The arrest warrant, approved on New Year’s Eve, follows Yoon’s controversial attempt to impose martial law last month and must be executed by 6 January.
Approximately 2,800 police officers have been deployed to facilitate the arrest, though the situation remains tense with uncertainty over how authorities will navigate past the Presidential Security Service, which has previously blocked investigators’ access to Yoon’s official premises.
The pre-dawn scene was marked by heightened tensions as roughly 100 demonstrators assembled near the presidential residence, vowing to prevent the arrest. “President Yoon Suk Yeol will be protected by the people,” protesters chanted, whilst some attempted to obstruct police access to a pedestrian overpass.
BREAKING: South Korean investigators head to Seoul in attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) January 2, 2025
Among the demonstrators was 74-year-old Pyeong In-su, who brandished a US-South Korean flag bearing the phrase “Let’s go together” in both languages. “Patriotic citizens must stop the police,” declared Pyeong, echoing terminology previously used by Yoon himself. The elderly protester expressed hope for intervention from incoming US President Donald Trump.
The crisis stems from Yoon’s shocking 3 December declaration of martial law, aimed at what he termed “anti-state forces” and political gridlock. The measure was short-lived, as 190 parliamentarians defied security cordons to vote against the order, forcing its withdrawal within six hours.
Yoon’s legal team contests the validity of the arrest warrant, arguing the CIO lacks proper authority under South Korean law. The president, who was impeached and suspended from duties on 14 December, faces additional scrutiny as the Constitutional Court weighs his permanent removal from office, with a second hearing scheduled for later today.
