Prison investigators armed with a court-issued warrant started a brand new operation early Wednesday to detain the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, for questioning in connection together with his short-lived imposition of martial legislation final month.
Police buses began massing earlier than daybreak exterior the hilltop presidential compound the place Mr. Yoon has been holed up since he was impeached — and suspended from workplace — by the Nationwide Meeting on Dec. 14. He was the primary South Korean chief to put his nation underneath navy rule because the nation started democratizing within the late Eighties.
Investigators and law enforcement officials gathered on the principal gate of Mr. Yoon’s residence round daybreak on Wednesday. Carrying ladders to recover from barricades of buses that blocked the street, they reached the doorway to Mr. Yoon’s residence, the place they held discussions with the president’s safety guards and attorneys.
Round 8:30 a.m., Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer who serves as Mr. Yoon’s spokesman, posted on Fb that the president had not but been arrested and that his authorized crew was negotiating with investigators over the potential for Mr. Yoon voluntarily submitting himself for questioning.
The investigators have been braced for a repeat of the standoff that occurred on Jan. 3, after they first visited Mr. Yoon’s residence to serve a detention warrant. Then, they have been outnumbered by presidential safety brokers and needed to beat an embarrassing retreat after a standoff that lasted 5 and a half hours.
Since then, the investigators have regrouped, saying they might carry in additional law enforcement officials the subsequent time they went to his residence. Police officers stated they deliberate to deploy 1,000 officers, together with models specializing in concentrating on drug and arranged crime gangs, and vowed to arrest any individuals who obstructed their approach.
On Wednesday morning, with Mr. Yoon’s attorneys, lawmakers from his celebration and personnel from the presidential safety service standing exterior the compound gates, it appeared that he and his supporters have been gearing up to withstand the renewed effort for his detention. Reside footage of the road main as much as his compound within the morning confirmed a tense standoff in below-freezing temperatures, with some shoving and bodily struggles at one level.
For the reason that first try to detain Mr. Yoon, his safety guards had fortified the compound by deploying extra buses and razor wire to dam gates and partitions. Mr. Yoon has vowed to “battle to the tip” to return to workplace and stated he gained’t give up to a courtroom warrant that he considers unlawful.
South Korea’s performing president, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, warned authorities companies concerned within the standoff towards violence.
“All of the individuals and the worldwide neighborhood are watching this,” he stated in a press release. “We can not tolerate bodily violence for any functions as a result of it would irreparably harm the belief of the individuals and our worldwide fame.”
The hassle to soak up Mr. Yoon and drive him to reply to accusations of revolt is the primary time in South Korean historical past that the authorities have tried to detain a sitting president. The unfolding occasions have gripped the nation, with information and social media channels livestreaming protection. There are fears of a violent conflict if neither facet backs down.
A day earlier than, the Constitutional Courtroom started a listening to on whether or not to unseat Mr. Yoon, who didn’t present up for the proceedings. His attorneys stated he feared the investigators would detain him if he left his presidential compound.
Over the last try to serve the warrant, the Presidential Safety Service, a authorities company assigned to guard the president and his household, outnumbered the Corruption Investigation Workplace for Excessive-ranking Officers, or C.I.O., which sought to detain him with the assistance of the police. It deployed 200 bodyguards and troopers to dam 100 C.I.O. brokers and law enforcement officials.
It was unclear how a lot manpower the presidential safety crew might muster in its efforts to cease the brand new try to detain Mr. Yoon.
A navy unit guards the perimeter of the presidential compound. However after the primary standoff, the Protection Ministry informed the presidential safety service that it might not use the troopers to forestall the warrant from being served, as a result of that was not certainly one of their duties.
Jin Yu Younger contributed reporting.
