Arrest warrant issued for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol

Kathmandu: A South Korean court has 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.

According to the news agency Reuters, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) confirmed the Seoul Western District Court approved the warrant requested by investigators examining President Yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial law on Tuesday.

South Korea’s presidential security service said in a statement on Tuesday that it will treat the arrest warrant according to due process.

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, President Yeol is expected to be held at the Seoul Detention Center, Yonhap news agency said citing the CIO.

The court issued the warrant due to the likelihood that Yeol 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.

Yeol has failed to respond to investigators’ summons for questioning three times since the Dec. 3 martial law declaration. Yeol 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 Yeol would be carried out.