A South Korean court has approved an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over the brief imposition of martial law earlier this month.
The Office of Corruption Investigation of High-Ranking Officials said in a statement on Tuesday that the Seoul Western District Court issued the warrant.
The agency said it was investigating whether Yun’s December 3 martial law decree amounted to rebellion.
It was not immediately clear when and how an arrest warrant for Yoon would be enforced.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s Presidential Security Service issued a statement saying it would consider an arrest warrant in accordance with due process.
The impeached President’s lawyer said the arrest warrant was “illegal and invalid”.
“The arrest warrants and search and seizure warrants issued at the request of an agency without investigative authority are illegal and invalid,” Yoon Kab-kyun said in a statement sent to AFP news agency.
The lawyer said the agency investigating Yoon Suk Yeol “lacks investigative authority.”
Prosecutors’ application for the warrant, sought on Monday, is believed to be the first attempt to forcibly detain a sitting president in the country’s constitutional history.
Why did investigators ask for an arrest warrant?
Yoon has dodged multiple requests to appear for questioning by the joint investigation team and government prosecutors. He has also banned the search of his office related to the investigation.
Investigators plan to interrogate Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and plotting to rebel.
The declaration of martial law was immediately met with opposition from politicians, with lawmakers immediately passing a resolution demanding Yoon to withdraw his order.
On December 14, lawmakers voted to impeach the president over his failed attempt to impose military rule, suspending his presidential powers.
However, it is up to the Constitutional Court to confirm the impeachment and remove Yun from office or restore his powers. This process may take months.
Short-term martial law plunges South Korea into crisis
A few days after his attempt to impose martial law, Yoon apologized Saying that he would not avoid legal and political responsibility for his actions.
Yet he later came out to defend his decision and said it was a measure to protect the country’s democracy.
Opposition party members have criticized his repeated disregard of the summons and warned against possible destruction of evidence.
Yun faces multiple investigations, including possible charges of leading a rebellion, a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
The country’s political crisis deepened when parliament last week impeached acting President Han Duk-soo over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies.
dvv,rmt/lo (AFP, AP, Reuters)
