South Korean president remains in hiding after arrest warrant against him

The security service of the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeolis trying to block the new attempt to arrest the president carried out this Wednesday by investigators from the national authorities as a result of his application of martial law.

Researchers from the Office for Corruption Cases of Senior Officials (CIO) They arrived at the presidential residence around 4:20 a.m. this Wednesday local time (20:20 GMT on Tuesday) to execute the new arrest warrant against the president, after the failed attempt to arrest him on the 3rd.

(Read also: Martial law South Korea: what is it and why did the president order it and hours later lift it?
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However, the Presidential Security Service (PSS) blocked access to the premises and has managed to prevent Yoon’s arrest for the moment, despite the deployment of some 3,000 police officers in the area to support the execution of the order, which has caused scenes of tension between the different forces reported by local media.

When required by the authorities, Yun Gap-geunone of Yoon’s lawyers, stated that the arrest order “is not legitimate,” according to the Yonhap agency, the same argument that the president’s legal defense has been using.

The president is investigated by the anti-corruption office, the police and the Ministry of Defense for an alleged crime of insurrection linked to his declaration of martial law last month.

The police deployed in the device issued successive messages over the public address system warning those who prevent the execution of the arrest warrant that they could be arrested for obstruction of law enforcement.

Hours before the investigators arrived to try to access Yoon’s residence, the police dispersed fifty protesters supporters of the conservative president who had held a sit-in in front of the main access door to the premises to try to physically prevent access.

Some 6,500 Yoon supporters also gathered around the venue, already protected by the police cordon, while around thirty of the ruler’s deputies People’s Power Party (PPP) They also moved to the outskirts of the presidential residence to protest against the arrest order.

Yoon is believed to be hiding in his residence since the National Assembly removed him on December 14 following his failed declaration of martial law.

Arrest of the president of South Korea: what will happen to the court orders against him?

The first attempt to execute the arrest warrant on the 3rd failed after the Presidential Security Service prevented officials from the anti-corruption office and dozens of police officers from accessing Yoon’s residence, in a tense confrontation that lasted several hours and finally forced the operation to be cancelled.

The panorama seems to be a time bomb, because since the authorities’ attempts to capture the president have not been successful, the search, arrest and detention orders against the president of South KoreaYoon Suk-yeol, will remain valid until January 21, as reported this Wednesday by the South Korean agency Yonhap.