South Korean investigators are attempting to detain the country’s impeached president as hundreds of his supporters gathered near his residence vowing to protect him.
Nearly three hours after dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in the scene appeared to have developed into a standoff.
An warrant has been issued for Yoon Suk Yeol’s detention over his short-lived martial law decree last month,
South Korea‘s Yonhap news, citing police sources, reported that the presidential security service has informed investigators it will not allow them to enter the residence.
In a defiant new year’s message to conservative supporters rallying outside his residence, the president said he would “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces”.
His lawyers have described the warrant to detain him as “invalid” and “illegal.”
South Korea’s Defence Ministry confirmed that the investigators and police officers got past a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds.
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Investigators from the anti-corruption agency were earlier seen loading boxes into several vehicles before leaving their building in the city of Gwacheon early in the morning.
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A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday after he evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office in Seoul, hindering an investigation into whether his ill-conceived power grab on 3 December amounted to rebellion.
The warrant is valid for one week and investigators may make another attempt to detain Yoon if they are unable to do so on Friday.
Thousands of police officers were gathered at Mr Yoon’s residence and were forming a perimeter around a growing number of pro-Yoon protesters.
If Yoon is detained, the anti-corruption agency will have 48 hours to investigate him and either request a warrant for his formal arrest or release him.
Yoon’s defence minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the martial law enactment.
His presidential powers were suspended following a National Assembly vote to impeach him on 14 December over his imposition of martial law.
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The move only lasted a few hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets.
Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove him from office or reinstate him.
