South Korea: Yoon's Attorney Decries Arrest Warrant as 'Unlawful'
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Seoul, Dec 31 (NationPress) An attorney representing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday expressed strong opposition against a detention warrant issued for the impeached president in connection with his unsuccessful martial law enforcement, deeming the warrant 'unlawful'.
A court in Seoul granted a request from law enforcement to detain the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for his fleeting martial law declaration, marking him as the first serving South Korean President to confront arrest.
The Seoul Western District Court authorized the warrant against Yoon for allegedly masterminding the flawed declaration of martial law on December 3, orchestrating an insurrection, and misusing his authority, as per various sources.
Yun Gap-geun, one of Yoon's legal advocates, stated that the arrest and search warrants requested by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) are 'illegal and invalid' due to the CIO's lack of investigative rights concerning insurrection charges.
The CIO initiated the detention warrant after Yoon disregarded three summonses from the anti-corruption agency, which sought his presence for inquiries regarding the brief martial law, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
The court warrant permits the CIO 48 hours to detain Yoon for questioning and seek an arrest warrant.
Nevertheless, there are uncertainties about whether the CIO can enforce the warrant, as the Presidential Security Service has prevented investigators from accessing both the presidential office premises and Yoon's official residence to conduct court-approved searches, citing military security reasons.
While Yoon enjoys presidential immunity against criminal prosecution, this privilege does not extend to charges of insurrection or treason.
Yoon's defense team contends that the CIO lacks the legal authority to investigate insurrection, a matter that, in principle, falls under the police's investigative jurisdiction as per the current system, which was amended during the previous administration.
Oh Dong-woon, the head of the CIO, has asserted that, unlike search warrants, a court-issued detention or arrest warrant cannot be legally obstructed, even by the President.
