Closing summary
It is approaching 8pm in Seoul and this blog will be closing shortly. You can keep up to date on the Guardian’s South Korea news coverage here.
A report on the latest events, written by Justin McCurry in Osaka, Raphael Rashid in Seoul and agencies, can be found here:
Here are the key developments on this story:
South Korean investigators called off their attempt to arrest impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid on Friday after a near-six-hour standoff at his residence during which he defied their attempt to detain him. “Regarding the execution of the arrest warrant today, it was determined that the execution was effectively impossible due to the ongoing standoff,” the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) said in a statement.
The country’s anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering Yoon’s residence for hours due to concerns about their safety. The agency expressed “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law”.
After the arrest effort was suspended, Yoon’s legal team said the CIO had no authority to investigate insurrection and it was regrettable that it had tried to execute an illegal warrant in a sensitive security area. The statement warned police against supporting the arrest effort.
The presidential office filed a criminal complaint against three broadcasters and YouTube channel owners for unauthorised filming of the presidential residence, which it said was “a secured facility directly linked to national security”.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, has defied investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. The last time he is known to have left the residence was on 12 December, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, making a defiant statement that he will fight efforts to oust him.
Investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency are weighing charges of rebellion after Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law on 3 December and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly. A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday, but enforcing it is complicated as long as he remains in his official residence.
Yoon’s lawyers, who filed a challenge to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge.
The CIO said it would discuss further action but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention will expire on Monday.
Later on Friday, the CIO said it would ask acting president Choi Sang-mok to exercise his power to order the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to cooperate. The current warrant gives investigators only 48 hours to hold president Yoon after he is arrested.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court said on Friday it will hold first arguments on 14 January in a trial to decide whether to oust president Yoon. He is required to appear for the first arguments. The court said it has planned a second session for 16 January in case Yoon refuses to appear for the first arguments.
Supporters of impeached South Korean president Yoon are adopting “Stop the Steal” slogans popularised by US president-elect Donald Trump supporters and said they hoped the incoming president would help their embattled leader. As Yoon supporters gathered outside his residence in the pre-dawn hours of Friday in an effort to prevent his arrest, some carried signs in English saying “Stop the Steal”, a slogan Trump supporters used to question the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which he lost. Trump, who is to take office for a second term on 21 January, has not commented on Yoon’s situation and there are no clear ties between his campaign and Yoon’s backers.
With echoes of claims of election denial movements in the US, a Hankook Research poll released this week showed that 65% of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party supporters believe last April’s parliamentary elections were fraudulent, despite only 29% of the general public sharing this view.
“The immediate arrest of the insurrection ringleader is the most urgent task to overcome our country’s crisis,” Democratic party floor leader Park Chan-dae said. “The longer we delay, the more snowballing damage there will be,” he added, calling for “anyone who obstructs the execution of the arrest warrant” to be arrested immediately.
North Korea’s state media published a detailed report on the political turmoil in South Korea, including the arrest warrant issued for president Yoon, who it said “stubbornly refuses to be investigated, totally denying his crimes with sheer lies”.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will visit South Korea for talks next week, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Friday. Blinken will meet his counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, on Monday, Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Updated
The current warrant gives investigators only 48 hours to hold president Yoon Suk Yeol after he is arrested. Investigators must then decide whether to request a detention warrant or release him.
Kim Seon-taek, a Korea University law professor, told Reuters that targeting the Presidential Security Service (PSS) leadership may allow the investigators to sap the service’s ability to put up resistance so they can try again to execute the warrant, which is “a rough way” to proceed.
A better way, he said, would be for acting president Choi Sang-mok to exercise his power to order the PSS to cooperate. Later on Friday, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said it would ask Choi to give that order.
According to Reuters, in a statement after the arrest effort was suspended, Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team said the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) had no authority to investigate insurrection and it was regrettable that it had tried to execute an illegal warrant in a sensitive security area.
The statement warned police against supporting the arrest effort.
The presidential office filed a criminal complaint against three broadcasters and YouTube channel owners for unauthorised filming of the presidential residence, which it said was “a secured facility directly linked to national security”.
Updated
North Korea’s state media published a detailed report on the political turmoil in South Korea, including the arrest warrant issued for president Yoon Suk Yeol, who it said “stubbornly refuses to be investigated, totally denying his crimes with sheer lies”, writes Reuters
North Korea has been harshly critical of Yoon, citing his hardline policy against Pyongyang as grounds in declaring the South a “primary foe” and announcing it had abandoned unification as a national goal.
Reuters has a breaking news line on South Korea’s investigating authorities plan to ask acting president, Choi Sang-mok, to order security services to cooperate with an arrest warrant execution against president Yoon Suk Yeol.
More details to follow …
Asian markets gained on Friday, bucking retreats on Wall Street as the dollar advanced and markets reopened after the New Year’s holiday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hong Kong, Sydney and Taipei climbed, while Seoul surged nearly 2% higher despite deepening political uncertainty in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Blinken to visit South Korea with eye on political crisis
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will visit South Korea for talks next week, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Friday, with the country mired in political turmoil as its impeached president resists arrest, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
South Korea is a key security ally for Washington but the country has been racked by a crisis sparked by president Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law decree on 3 December.
Blinken will meet his counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, on Monday, Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“They are expected to discuss the South Korea-US alliance, South Korea-US-Japan cooperation, North Korea issues, and regional and global challenges,” the ministry said.
Investigators probing Yoon’s declaration of martial law made an attempt to enforce a warrant for his arrest on Friday but it was repelled by presidential security guards. That warrant expires on 6 January, the same day Blinken plans to meet Cho.
Washington last month said it would “speak out” to South Korea to safeguard democracy after Yoon’s bungled declaration.
“South Korea’s democracy is robust and resilient, and we’re going to continue to speak out publicly and engage privately with South Korean counterparts to reinforce the importance of that continuing,” US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said.
Updated
What could happen next?
Following the unsuccessful attempt by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to execute the arrest warrant for president Yoon Suk Yeol, several potential courses of action remain on the table. The CIO could attempt to re-execute the arrest before the warrant’s expiration on 6 January. The warrant period could technically be extended through a new request if needed.
Alternatively, legal experts suggest that the CIO could bypass further direct confrontation by seeking a pre-trial detention warrant. This option would require less immediate physical enforcement but would maintain the pressure on president Yoon. However, execution would probably face similar challenges if Yoon refuses to comply.
Meanwhile, calls for accountability extend beyond president Yoon. Some analysts argue that swift action from acting president Choi Sang-mok, such as dismissing the head of Presidential Security Service (PSS), is necessary to ensure procedural compliance in future attempts. Police have already filed obstruction of justice charges against the head and deputy head of the PSS. They have been summoned to appear for questioning by tomorrow.
Supporters of South Korea's Yoon adopt 'Stop the Steal' and hope Trump will help
Supporters of impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol are adopting “Stop the Steal” slogans popularised by US president-elect Donald Trump supporters and said they hoped the incoming president would help their embattled leader, reports Reuters.
As Yoon supporters gathered outside his residence in the pre-dawn hours of Friday in an effort to prevent his arrest, some carried signs in English saying “Stop the Steal”, a slogan Trump supporters used to question the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which he lost.
Trump, who is to take office for a second term on 21 January, has not commented on Yoon’s situation and there are no clear ties between his campaign and Yoon’s backers.
But, according to Reuters, searches for the hashtag #StopTheSteal or “election fraud” in Korean on social media platform X show recent posts uploaded from Koreans featuring memes whose design appears to have been inspired by Trump’s “Make America Great Again” sign.
Reuters reports that Yoon’s defence of his actions has also had similarities to Trump’s political rhetoric with him citing possible voting irregularities and defending the country from enemies within and without.
While Yoon made no mention of election issues in his initial martial law declaration, he dispatched hundreds of troops to raid the National Election Commission (NEC) and later alleged North Korea had hacked the NEC, but cited no evidence. He said the attack was detected by the National Intelligence Service but the commission, an independent agency, refused to cooperate fully in an investigation and inspection of its system.
According to Reuters, the hack cast doubt on the integrity of the April 2024 parliamentary election – which his party lost by a landslide – and led him to declare martial law, he said. At the time the commission said by raising the suspicion of election irregularities, Yoon was committing a “self-defeating act against an election oversight system that elected himself as president”.
The NEC said it had consulted the spy agency last year to address “security vulnerabilities” but there were no signs a hack by North Korea compromised the election system, and that votes are conducted with paper ballots.
Reuters reports that the issue has become a major talking point for Yoon supporters who say his martial law declaration was justified, and now hope their concerns will resonate with Trump.
“He could really help President Yoon,” said university professor Lee Ho-chung, adding that the audience for his English “Stop The Steal” poster was both Americans and Koreans.
Pyeong In-su, 71, holding a flag of the US and South Korea with the words “Let’s go together” in English and Korean, said he was banking on Trump’s return to save Yoon. “I hope that Trump will take office soon and raise his voice against the rigged elections in our country plus around the world so as to help President Yoon to return [to power] swiftly,” Pyeong said.
Seo Hye-kyoung who was holding a “Stop the Steal” sign with the Chinese flag claimed that “Chinese people have come to our country and stole our votes”. When asked about the NEC’s public denial of election fraud, Seo said she trusts Yoon. “The president is not someone who would say something wrong,” she said.
Hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters surrounded the presidential compound, some stayed out overnight in sub-zero temperatures, hoping to head off the arrest attempt, reports Reuters. “Invalid impeachment,” the protesters chanted with some sporting the US flag which is often found at protests by conservatives in the country.
Trump has been impeached twice, but acquitted.
Updated
With echoes of claims of election denial movements in the US, a Hankook Research poll released this week showed that 65% of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party supporters believe last April’s parliamentary elections were fraudulent, despite only 29% of the general public sharing this view.
Here is a bit more on the six hour standoff inside the compound of the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, via Reuters news agency.
“It was judged that it was virtually impossible to execute the arrest warrant due to the ongoing standoff,” the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said in a statement.
The CIO officials and police evaded hundreds of Yoon supporters who gathered in the pre-dawn hours near his residence on Friday, vowing to block the arrest “with our lives”.
Some chanted “President Yoon Suk Yeol will be protected by the people,” and called for the head of the CIO to be arrested.
Officials from the CIO, which is leading a joint team of investigators into possible insurrection charges related to Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law, arrived at the gates of the presidential compound shortly after 7am local time (10pm GMT Thursday) and entered on foot.
Once inside the compound, the CIO and police were outnumbered by cordons of Presidential Security Service (PSS) personnel, as well as military troops seconded to presidential security, a CIO official told reporters.
More than 200 PSS agents and soldiers formed several layers of human chains to block the CIO and police, the official added. While there were altercations and PSS agents appeared to be carrying firearms, no weapons were drawn in the standoff, the official said.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence said the troops were under the control of the PSS.
The CIO called off the effort to arrest Yoon at about 1.30pm (local time) due to concerns over the safety of its personnel due to obstruction, and said it “deeply regretted” Yoon’s attitude of non-compliance.
The CIO said it would consider its next steps. The police, who are part of the joint investigation team, have designated the PSS chief and the deputy as suspects in a criminal case for obstruction of official duty and issued summons for them to appear for questioning on Saturday, Yonhap news reported.
In a statement after the arrest effort was suspended, Yoon’s legal team said the CIO had no authority to investigate insurrection and it was regrettable that it had tried to “forcibly execute an illegal and invalid arrest and search warrant” in a sensitive security area. The statement warned police against supporting the arrest effort.
The foreign ministers of South Korea and the US will hold a meeting in Seoul on Monday to discuss their alliance and North Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported on Friday.
JTBC claims to have obtained the responses submitted by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team to the constitutional court.
They reportedly argue that since everything has been restored to the pre-martial law state, there is no need for impeachment proceedings.
The document also reportedly asserts that during the short-lived martial law, no fundamental rights, such as life or physical safety, were violated.
“The immediate arrest of the insurrection ringleader is the most urgent task to overcome our country’s crisis,” Democratic party floor leader Park Chan-dae said.
“The longer we delay, the more snowballing damage there will be. You can see this just by looking at the movement of exchange rates and stock prices,” he said.
“Anyone who obstructs the execution of the arrest warrant must be arrested immediately. The head of the Presidential Security Service, deputy head, and security bureau chief – whoever obstructs public duties should be considered accomplices to insurrection and arrested on the spot for obstruction of justice, harbouring criminals, and abuse of power”.
“It fills me with great sorrow to see someone who plotted to start a war and gave orders to open fire now hiding in the presidential residence, evading lawful enforcement”.
More detail now on that announcement:
South Korea’s Constitutional Court said on Friday it will hold first arguments on 14 January in a trial to decide whether to oust President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Yoon is required to appear for the first arguments.
The court said it has planned a second session for 16 January in case Yoon refuses to appear for the first arguments.
South Korea’s constitutional court says it will hold the first arguments in President Yoon’s impeachment trial on 14 January, Yonhap reports.
Yonhap reports that South Korean investigating authorities are probing the head of the presidential security service for obstruction of justice, after security service presonnel blocked investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office from entering Yoon’s residence for hours to execute an arrest warrant.
Summary
Here are the key recent developments:
South Korean investigators left the official residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after a near-six-hour standoff during which he defied their attempt to detain him. It’s the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.
The country’s anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering Yoon’s residence for hours due to concerns about their safety. The agency expressed “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law.”
Yoon, a former prosecutor, has defied investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. The last time he is known to have left the residence was on 12 December, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, making a defiant statement that he will fight efforts to oust him.
Investigators from the country’s anti-corruption agency are weighing charges of rebellion after Yoon, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament, declared martial law on 3 December and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly. A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday, but enforcing it is complicated as long as he remains in his official residence.
Yoon’s lawyers, who filed a challenge to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge.
The office said it will discuss further actions, but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention is valid for one week.
Yonhap reports that according to investigators, there were “various small and large scuffles” as they tried to arrest president Yoon.
The Corruption Investigation Office says that investigators faced a human wall formed by 200 presidential personnel, were outnumbered, and could not get through, according to Yonhap.
Updated
South Korea’s political crisis took a dramatic turn on Friday when investigators were forced to abandon an attempt to arrest the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, after a tense standoff with his security forces.
Hours after they entered the presidential compound in Seoul, anti-corruption officials said they were halting their attempt to execute a warrant to detain Yoon over allegations that his martial law declaration in December amounted to an insurrection.
“Regarding the execution of the arrest warrant today, it was determined that the execution was effectively impossible due to the ongoing standoff,” the Corruption Investigation Office said in a statement. “Concern for the safety of personnel on-site led to the decision to halt the execution.”
The investigators’ office said it would discuss further action but did not immediately say whether it would make another attempt to detain Yoon. The warrant for his detention will expire on Monday.
The confrontation unfolded on a freezing winter’s day in Seoul, as an estimated 1,200 Yoon supporters gathered outside his official residence while police and other officials inside attempted to execute an arrest warrant – the first for a sitting South Korean president.
Democratic party lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, who leads the parliamentary team presenting the impeachment case to the constitutional court, said on his way to today’s second preparatory hearing at the court that the “insurrection is not over yet, it’s still ongoing”, according to Seoul Shinmun.
He called for the president’s swift arrest and removal from office, saying it was “necessary for national stability”.
South Korea’s ruling party interim leader, Kwon Young-se, has welcomed the suspension of the joint investigation unit’s execution of the arrest warrant, saying in a live TV address that the investigation of Yoon must be conducted without arresting him.
Updated
More now on why Yoon supporters wave US flags.
The narrative of election fraud adopted from the US has intensified since Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law this December, which he justified by claiming electoral manipulation and the presence of “pro-North Korean, anti-state forces” – actions that led to his impeachment and current arrest warrant.
With echoes of claims of election denial movements in the US, a Korea Research poll released this week showed that 65% of Yoon’s conservative People Power Party supporters believe last April’s parliamentary elections were fraudulent, despite only 29% of the general public sharing this view.
The elections saw the opposition parties including the Democratic party win a decisive victory, securing 192 seats in the 300-seat parliament. No major election observers or court has raised concerns about the vote, with fraud claims debunked as unsubstantiated.
Regardless, the allegations have been amplified through a network of far-right YouTube channels, where conservative commentators livestream the rallies and promote a wide range of conspiracy theories.
These online echo chambers, which Yoon himself has been accused of relying on for information, have become key platforms for spreading unfounded claims and maintaining supporter morale.
Investigators leave residence
South Korean investigators have left the president’s official residence, the Associated Press reports, after a nearly six-hour standoff during which he defied their attempt detain him in the latest confrontation of a political crisis that has paralysed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.
Investigators call off attempt to arrest Yoon – report
From AFP: South Korean investigators called off their attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid on Friday because of a standoff at his residence.
“Regarding the execution of the arrest warrant today, it was determined that the execution was effectively impossible due to the ongoing standoff.
Concern for the safety of personnel on-site led to the decision to halt the execution,” the Corruption Investigation Office said in a statement.
Investigators suspend operations, saying execution of arrest warrant impossible – Yonhap
Yonhap News reports that investigators have suspended operations, deeming the execution of his arrest warrant impossible. The Guardian has not verified this independently.
It is unclear how long operations are suspended for. The warrant is valid for another few days, and earlier it was reported that investigators may try again in coming days if they fail today.
Updated
Why Yoon supporters are flying US flags
As investigators attempted to arrest president Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday morning, his supporters gathered outside the presidential residence waving two national flags: the South Korean Taegukgi alongside the American Stars and Stripes.
To outsiders, the unexpected combination may seem baffling. But to Yoon’s supporters, America represents more than an ally: it’s a perceived ideal. The symbolism of the US flag is a declaration of a broader cultural and spiritual order they believe is under threat.
Holding both flags outside Yoon’s residence on Friday, 74-year-old Pyeong In-su said the police had to be stopped by “patriotic citizens” and he hoped US president-elect Donald Trump could come to Yoon’s aid.
“I hope after Trump’s inauguration he can use his influence to help our country get back on the right track,” he said, as he waved both flags with the message: “Let’s go together” in English and Korean.
While pro-Yoon groups criticise their opponents as being subservient to North Korea, they openly venerate the United States.
They frequently remind followers that the US liberated Korea from Japanese colonial rule and defended it during the Korean war of 1950-53, casting America as a divine protector of democracy embedded in Christian values.
Over recent years, these groups, which remain a fringe element of South Korean society, have increasingly adopted rhetoric from the American right, particularly around claims of election fraud.
The head of the Corruption Investigation Office, Oh Dong-woon, has warned that anyone trying to block authorities from arresting Yoon could themselves face prosecution.
South Korean officials have previously failed to execute similar arrest warrants for lawmakers – in 2000 and 2004 – due to party members and supporters blocking police for the seven days the warrants were valid.
Yoon also faces a separate Constitutional Court hearing which will confirm or reject his impeachment by parliament.
A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday, but enforcing it is complicated as long as he remains in his official residence.
Yoon’s lawyers, who filed a challenge to the warrant on Thursday, say it cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge. The warrant is valid for one week.
They’ve also argued that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military investigators, lacks the authority to investigate rebellion charges. They said that police officers don’t have the legal authority to assist in detaining Yoon, and could face arrest by either the “presidential security service or any citizens.” They didn’t elaborate further on the claim.
If investigators manage to detain Yoon, they will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.
Yoon last known to have left residence on 12 December
If you’re just tuning in: South Korean investigators have now spent hours waiting outside the official residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol as the presidential security service blocked them from executing a warrant to detain him, in the latest confrontation of a political crisis that has paralyzed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, has defied investigators’ attempts to question him for weeks. Reuters reports that the last time he is known to have left the residence was on 12 December, when he went to the nearby presidential office to make a televised statement to the nation, making a defiant statement that he will fight efforts to oust him.
Nearly five hours after dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for Yoon’s detention, the dramatic scene appeared to have developed into a standoff. Two of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoon Kap-keun and Kim Hong-il, were seen entering the gate of the presidential residence around noon.
Updated
North Korea says South in 'political chaos’ over Yoon arrest bid
North Korean state media says the South is in “chaos” and paralysed politically over an attempt by investigators to execute an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday was a rare commentary about the South’s political turmoil in recent weeks, and included no quoted officials. It was also a speedier missive than before – Pyongyang did not comment on Yoon’s martial law declaration on 3 December until a week after it had failed.
“In puppet South Korea, an unprecedented impeachment took place following the Dec. 3 martial law incident,” KCNA wrote, according to AFP.
“A detention warrant was issued for the president, paralysing state affairs and further deepening social and political chaos.”
North Korean state media often refers to the South’s leaders and institutions as being a “puppet” of its key security ally, the United States.
“Foreign media have criticised that South Korea has been thrown deeper into a political storm,” KCNA added.
The commentary was published in North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper, which according to South Korean news agency Yonhap was an apparent attempt to highlight the North Korean government’s “stability by comparison”.
Updated
Yonhap news agency is reporting that the alleged standoff between presidential security and investigators remains ongoing. There have been no arrests for obstructing official duties so far, it says.
It is worth noting again that it is difficult to independently verify anything going on in Yoon Suk Yeol’s residence.
South Korea’s political crisis took a dramatic turn on Friday when investigators attempting to arrest the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, were involved in a tense standoff with his security forces.
Local media reports said officials from the Corruption Investigation Office – which is leading a joint team of police and prosecutors – entered the compound to find themselves blocked by troops under the control of the presidential security service.
Having managed to find a way past the troops, officials were confronted by other security service staff, raising doubts over whether Yoon, who was impeached in mid-December over his short-lived declaration of martial law, would be arrested on Friday.
More than three hours after anti-corruption officials had entered the compound, it was still far from clear how the gravest political crisis South Korea has faced in decades would play out.
The hourslong standoff has prompted the opposition Democratic party to call on the country’s acting leader, deputy prime minister Choi Sang-mok, to order the presidential security service to stand down, Associated Press reports.
“We warn presidential security service chief Park Jong-joon not to further participate in a rebellion. Do not drag the upright staff of the presidential security service and other public officials into the depths of crime,” said Jo Seung-lae, a Democratic lawmaker. Choi must “remember that swiftly addressing the rebellion and preventing further chaos is your responsibility,” Jo said.
Opposition floor leader criticises apparent refusal to comply with arrest
The main opposition Democratic party is strongly criticising President Yoon for his apparent refusal to comply with the arrest warrant, Yonhap News reports.
Park Chan-dae, the party’s floor leader, demanded that “Yoon Suk Yeol should comply with the people’s order to willingly submit to the execution of the arrest warrant”.
The party is also criticising the presidential security service for allegedly obstructing the arrest.
“Protecting the leader of an insurrection is not the Security Service’s duty. Stop the act of a second insurrection immediately”, said Kim Byung-joo, a senior party official.
Here is the Associated Press report on the latest inside Yoon’s residence:
Nearly three hours after dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for Yoon’s detention, the dramatic scene appeared to have developed into a standoff.
The anti-corruption agency didn’t immediately reply to questions about whether investigators successfully entered Yoon’s residential building, but South Korea’s YTN television reported scuffles as investigators and police confronted the presidential security forces.
Seok Dong-hyeon, one of several lawyers on Yoon’s legal team, confirmed that the investigators arrived at the building but said it was unlikely that they would be able to detain the president on Friday. He said the agency’s efforts to detain Yoon were “reckless” and showed an “outrageous discard for law.”
South Korea’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the investigators and police officers got past a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds before arriving at the building. The presidential security service, which controls the residence itself, refused to comment on whether its members were confronting investigators and whether they planned to block the detention attempt.
South Korea’s Yonhap news, citing anonymous police sources, reported that the presidential security service has informed investigators it will not allow them to enter the residence.
How things are unfolding inside the residence
Here is what has been reported about the order of events once investigators entered Yoon’s residence, according to AFP:
CIO investigators including senior prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan were let through heavy security barricades to enter the residence to attempt to execute their warrant to detain Yoon, AFP reporters saw.
But they were “blocked by a military unit inside” after entering, the Yonhap news agency reported.
They later “moved past” that unit to “confront security service” members inside the residence.
It had been unclear whether the Presidential Security Service, which still protects Yoon as the country’s sitting head of state, would comply with investigators’ warrants.
Members of his security team have previously blocked attempted police raids of the presidential residence, but it was not immediately clear which units had blocked investigators Friday.
The Guardian has not verified these reports independently.
Updated
Investigators enter Yoon residence – video
Here is the video footage of investigators entering President Yoon’s residence to execute an arrest warrant:
Two South Korean military officials indicted – Yonhap
Two South Korean military officials, including army chief Park An-su – who was named martial law commander during the short-lived declaration last month – have been indicted after being detained by prosecutors who are investigating insurrection charges, Yonhap news agency is reporting.
This has not been confirmed independently by the Guardian.
Updated
It has been about four hours since investigators left the Corruption Investigation Office for Yoon’s residence to execute the arrest warrant, and just under three hours since they entered the residence.
Reuters spoke to a pro-Yoon suporter outside the president’s residence.
Pyeong In-su, 74, said that the police had to be stopped by “patriotic citizens”, a term Yoon used to describe those standing guard near his residence.
Holding a flag of the United States and South Korea with the words “Let’s go together” in English and Korean, Pyeong said he hoped incoming US President Donald Trump would come to Yoon’s aid.
“I hope after Trump’s inauguration he can use his influence to help our country get back on the right track,” he said.
The Center for Military Human Rights Korea has issued a statement claiming military forces and tactical vehicles at President Yoon’s residence are being used to block his arrest, calling the situation a “second insurrection”. The Guardian has not verified reports of military forces and tactical vehicles being used to block the arrest.
The NGO has demanded the immediate withdrawal of all military personnel.
Here is the Guardian’s profile of South Korea’s President, Yoon Suk Yeol:
Investigators trying to arrest South Korea’s president Yoon reportedly in standoff with security service
The Agence France-Presse news agency has reporters outside the residence, here is the latest from them (not independently verified by the Guardian):
CIO investigators including senior prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan were let through heavy security barricades to enter the residence to attempt to execute their warrant to detain Yoon, AFP reporters saw.
But they were “blocked by a military unit inside” after entering, the Yonhap news agency reported.
They later “moved past” that unit to “confront security service” members inside the residence.
Updated
South Korea’s YTN television reported scuffles as investigators and police confronted the presidential security forces.
Reuters reports that South Korea’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the investigators and police officers got past a military unit guarding the residence’s grounds.
The presidential security service, which controls the residence itself, refused to comment on whether its members were confronting investigators and whether they planned to block the detention attempt.
The Guardian has not confirmed these reports independently.
Updated
If you’re just joining us: Investigators in South Korea were reportedly involved in a standoff with a military unit inside the presidential residence as they attempted to arrest the country’s suspended leader Yoon Suk Yeol, weeks after his botched attempt to declare martial law.
Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office were let through heavy security to enter Yoon’s residence in Seoul on Friday morning, while his supporters confronted police outside.
Investigators released a statement saying they have started executing the arrest warrant. “The execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol has begun,” the office said.
Updated
Protesters are cautious around media. They tell me that, on the one hand, they want the world to know that the proclamation of martial law was constitutional and necessary in order to “rescue” South Korea, while on the other, they claim there are spies among them.
Yesterday, they warned against approaching anyone who spoke English or Chinese.
Today, a woman snatched my international press card neck collar and furiously attempted to video it for her YouTube livestream. “Show me who you are! We need to check! You are not allowed,” she said.
Some more detail now on investigators entering the residence and attempting to arrest Yoon, via AFP:
Corruption Investigation Office investigators including senior prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan were let through heavy security barricades to enter the residence to attempt to execute their warrant to detain Yoon, AFP reporters saw.
But they were “blocked by a military unit inside” after entering, the Yonhap news agency reported.
It had been unclear whether the Presidential Security Service, which still protects Yoon as the country’s sitting head of state, would comply with investigators’ warrants.
Members of his security team have previously blocked attempted police raids of the presidential residence, but it was not immediately clear which unit had blocked investigators on Friday.
Here is more from Yoon’s defence lawyer:
Yoon’s lawyer said Friday that investigators trying to detain the impeached leader were not acting lawfully, vowing to take further legal action against the move.
“The execution of a warrant that is illegal and invalid is indeed not lawful,” Yoon Kap-keun said, adding that “legal actions will be taken regarding the illegal execution of the warrant”.
Here a protester holds up a sign with messaging similar to that in the US – “Stop the Steal” – referring to false claims of election fraud.
There are often American flags at pro-Yoon rallies in South Korea, including today.
This reflects a peculiar convergence of far-right Korean politics with American conservative symbolism. Yoon’s supporters, many from evangelical Christian backgrounds, have adopted US conservative imagery and rhetoric, viewing America as a bastion of their idealised version of a Christian democracy. They often wave US flags while accusing their opponents of being “pro-North Korean”.
Over the years, they have resorted to claims of election fraud, and have amplified this message since the martial law declaration to justify their resistance. It doesn’t help that Yoon himself has embraced this logic in defending his martial law declaration.
A recent poll showed that while only 29% of South Koreans believe claims of election fraud, this rises to 65% among Yoon’s party supporters.
A woman gets on stage: “This country’s position is one protected by the Lord [...] All media outlets, stop your false reporting. Our young students, our elementary school students, have all been ruined and are doing drugs”, she says.
She also continues to make unfounded claims of voting fraud.
“Ladies and gentlemen, President Yoon is truly remarkable. President Yoon’s achievements are remarkable. Everyone, please support President Yoon. I love President Yoon Suk Yeol,” she says. “And First Lady Kim Keon Hee, be confident”.
Updated
The Guardian’s Raphael Rashid is outside Yoon’s residence, typing with very, very cold fingers:
“It’s minus 3 degrees Celsius. Tea and snack stations have been set up for the protest group,” he says.
Updated
The Guardian’s Raphael Rashid is outside Yoon’s residence.
He reports: Huge police presence around Hangangjin Station, thousands of protesters are gathering here. They say Yoon is innocent and are repeating that “the election was rigged” referring to last April’s general election. While this rhetoric has always been around, and unfounded, it’s gained traction in recent weeks.
Here is a photograph of a Yoon supporter earlier on Friday:
Updated
Yoon’s defence lawyers say they will take legal action over the “illegal” execution of a warrant for his arrest, the Yonhap news agency is reporting.
Some journalists are expecting Yoon to arrive today – having been arrested – at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, according to this Reuters photograph of them waiting outside:
Authorities attempting arrest in 'standoff with military unit' – Yonhap
Investigating authorities are trying to arrest president Yoon, but are in a standoff with a military unit, Yonhap reports.
Updated
The outcome of today’s attempted arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol could depend on the response of his presidential security service, which has blocked previous attempts to search his office. The legal and political stakes are higher, now, though.
While Yoon’s lawyers have refused to accept the arrest warrant – calling it “illegal and invalid – Friday’s dramatic developments place the security service in an unprecedented position.
Oh Dong-woon, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office, which is investigating Yoon on suspicion of insurrection, has warned that any attempt to block the execution of the warrant could amount to dereliction of duty and obstruction of official duties.
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, AFP reports. Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the martial law enactment.
Updated
Another image of investigators entering the residence. It is unclear whether they will be successful in arresting Yoon today. If not, they may try again before the warrant runs out next week – it was issued on Tuesday this week and is valid for seven days:
Investigators release statement: 'The execution of the arrest warrant has begun'
South Korean investigators have released a statement saying they have started executing their arrest warrant.
“The execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol has begun,” the Corruption Investigation Office said.
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 today.
About 20 investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police officers were seen entering the gate of Yoon’s residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for his detainment a short while ago, Reuters reports.
This Reuters photograph appears to show members of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials entering the residence:
Investigators have entered the presidential residence – AFP
South Korean investigators entered the presidential residence early Friday seeking to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, according to AFP reporters outside.
Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office, which is probing Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law, were let through heavy security barricades to enter the residence to attempt to execute their warrant to detain Yoon, the reporters say.
Here is a photograph of members of the Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials arriving in front Yoon’s official residence:
Where things stand
If you’re just joining us, there is where things stand:
South Korean investigators arrived outside the presidential residence early Friday seeking to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, with the impeached leader’s die-hard supporters massing outside to protect him.
Cars carrying investigators probing Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law drove up outside his residence in central Seoul, which was surrounded by a heavy police presence.
Yoon, who has already been suspended from duty by lawmakers, would become the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested.
Dozens of police buses and hundreds of uniformed police lined the street outside the compound in central Seoul.
Some 2,700 police and 135 police buses have been deployed to the area to prevent clashes, the Yonhap news agency reported, after Yoon’s supporters faced off with anti-Yoon demonstrators in the area Thursday.
Yoon has been holed up inside the residence since a court approved the warrant to detain him earlier this week, vowing to “fight” authorities seeking to question him over his failed martial law bid.
The leader issued the bungled martial law declaration on 3 December that led to his impeachment and has left him facing arrest, imprisonment or, at worst, the death penalty.
It is unclear whether the Presidential Security Service, which still protects Yoon as the country’s sitting head of state, would comply with investigators’ warrants.
Members of his security team have previously blocked attempted police raids of his presidential residence.
Updated
Investigating authorities have begun attempting to arrest Yoon
Yonhap is reporting that investigating authorities have begun attempting to arrest President Yoon. From the live feed outside his compound shows someone talkingloudly into a loudspeaker. Police in high-vis yellow jackets appear to to be getting into lines, and there are several police vehicles parked outside.
Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is leading a joint team of investigators that include the police and prosecutors, had arrived at the gates of Yoon’s compound shortly after 7am (22.00 GMT Thursday), according to Reuters witnesses.
Yonhap News Agency reported that about 3,000 police had been mobilised in preparation.
Media reports said the CIO vehicles did not immediately enter the compound.
Updated
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity.
Yoon’s lawyers have said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid because the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials did not have the authority under South Korean law to request a warrant.
Updated
Updated
Updated
Authorities are now at President Yoon’s residence, YTN is reporting.
Yoon has been isolated since he was impeached and suspended from power on 14 December.
Updated
South Korean authorities are near Yoon’s residence to carry out an arrest warrant for the impeached president, YTN is reporting.
Updated
Yonhap reported that officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which is leading a joint team of investigators that include the police and prosecutors, had left their headquarters to execute the warrant against Yoon.
Broadcaster YTN reported that about 2,800 police had been mobilised in preparation for executing the warrant.
It was unclear exactly how police would make the arrest and whether the Presidential Security Service, which has blocked access by investigators with a search warrant to Yoon’s office and official residence, would try to stop it.
About 100 protesters were gathered in the early hours near his residence, amid local media reports that investigating authorities would soon try to execute an arrest warrant that was approved on Tuesday after Yoon refused summons to appear.
About a dozen protesters tried to block a group of police officers at the entrance to a pedestrian overpass, Reuters reported.
Updated
Earlier this week, Yoon rallied his supporters in a letter saying he will “fight until the end”.
“I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing,” Yoon wrote late on Wednesday to the hundreds of supporters who had gathered near his official residence to protest against the investigation into him.
“I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you,” he said in the letter, a photo capture of which was sent to the media by Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon.
South Korean authorities are en route to execute an arrest warrant against president Yoon Suk Yeol, Yonhap news agency said.
A court in Seoul had issued an arrest warrant on 31st December against Yoon over his attempt to impose martial law on 3rd December.
The warrant comes after Yoon, who is being investigated for abusing his power and inciting an insurrection, ignored three summonses to appear for questioning over the past two weeks.
His legal team called the warrant “illegal and invalid” and said they would challenge it in court.
Yoon is South Korea’s first sitting president to face arrest.
