Thousands of South Korean protesters for and against impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol have staged rival rallies in Seoul, a day after authorities failed to execute an arrest warrant on the suspended leader over his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.
The protesters faced-off outside the presidential residence and along major roads in the South Korean capital on Saturday to either demand Yoon’s arrest or call for his impeachment to be declared invalid.
The widening political division comes as investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) for High-Ranking Officials pressed the country’s acting President Choi Sang-mok to order the presidential security service to comply with an arrest warrant for Yoon.
On Friday, the presidential security service and soldiers prevented prosecutors from arresting Yoon in a six-hour standoff inside the impeached president’s compound. Investigators eventually called off the arrest attempt citing safety concerns.
The showdown – which reportedly included shoving, but no shots fired – left the warrant in limbo, with the court order set to expire on Monday.
Yoon’s December 3 martial declaration stunned South Korea and led to the first arrest warrant to be issued for a sitting president, while also triggering a deep political crisis.
Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.
His lawyers decried Friday’s arrest attempt as “unlawful and invalid” and said they would take legal action.
Also on Saturday, the police asked Park Chong-jun, the chief of the presidential security service protecting Yoon, to appear for questioning on Tuesday, Yonhap News reported.
Al Jazeera’s Patrick Fok, reporting from Seoul, said the protests on Saturday have been peaceful and orderly.
“That has been remarkable in many ways, but a sense of frustration among people against President Yoon is no doubt growing,” he said.
“And you wonder just how long these rallies can remain peaceful if the situation continues as it is.”
Yoon supporter Kim Chul-hong, 60, said the impeached president’s arrest could undermine South Korea’s security alliance with the US and Japan.
“Protecting President Yoon means safeguarding our country’s security against threats from North Korea,” he told the AFP news agency.
Meanwhile, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, South Korea’s largest umbrella union, attempted to march to Yoon’s residence to protest against him but were blocked by police.
The union said two of its members were arrested and several others were injured in scuffles with the police on Saturday.
Investigators could still make another bid to arrest Yoon before the court order expires on Monday. If the warrant lapses, investigators may also apply for another.
The Constitutional Court slated January 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which would continue in his absence if he does not attend.
