South Korea court issues arrest warrant for President Yoon

SEOUL: A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been impeached and suspended from power over his decision to impose martial law on Dec. 3, investigating authorities said.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) confirmed the Seoul Western District Court approved the warrant requested by investigators examining Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law.

This is the first arrest warrant issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, according to local media.

The current arrest warrant is viable until Jan. 6, and once it is exercised, Yoon is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center, Yonhap news agency said citing CIO.

The court issued the warrant due to the likelihood that Yoon will not respond to summons without a justifiable reason, and there being a substantial reason to suspect Yoon of a crime, Yonhap said. The court declined to comment.

Yoon has failed to respond to investigators' summons for questioning three times since the Dec. 3 martial law declaration.

Yoon is facing criminal investigation on allegations that he was the leader of an insurrection. Insurrection is one of the few charges for which a South Korean president does not have immunity.

It was unclear when or how the arrest warrant for Yoon will be carried out. South Korea's presidential security service said in a statement on Tuesday that it will treat the arrest warrant according to due process.

The court also approved a search warrant for Yoon's residence, the CIO said.

Previously, police tried but failed to successfully raid the presidential office as part of the investigation, due to the presidential security service blocking access.

The acting leader of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, Kweon Seong-dong, said on Tuesday that attempting to detain a sitting president is inappropriate.

Kim Yong-min, a lawmaker in the opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in parliament and brought on Yoon's impeachment vote, said on Tuesday "the process of executing the warrant and investigation could be very difficult", calling for investigators to immediately execute the warrants.