Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) shout slogans during a rally against impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday. Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA-EFE
Jan. 5, 2025
Jan. 5 (UPI) -- As an expiration deadline for the arrest warrant for impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol loomed Sunday, protesters and counter-protesters braved freezing temperatures and snow to gather outside of his home.
The protest came as a court in Seoul dismissed an injunction Yoon filed in a bid to invalidate warrants to detain him and search his residence. South Korea has been thrown into a political crisis after Yoon addressed the nation in early December to declare martial law while accusing his opposition of trying to overthrow democracy in the country.
The Seoul Western District Court granted the arrest and search warrants against Yoon on New Year's Eve, more than two weeks after the leader was suspended from his position, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
Investigators are seeking to detain Yoon before the deadline on the warrants expire on Monday, which led to a standoff between them and the Presidential Security Service on Friday.
But the warrant's legality has been questioned by law experts because it specified that certain key provisions of South Korea's Criminal Procedure Act should be excluded. By excluding those measures, the police were effectively given the ability to search the military and government-classified presidential residence.
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The Presidential Security Service has since find itself caught in the crosshairs of the dispute by continuing to refuse entry to investigators and leading police and prosecutors to seek charges against the head of the agency for the obstruction of justice.
Yoon's supporters have also been camping outside his home to protect him from "pro-North Korean forces" that they allege are seeking to steal his presidency, ABC News reported.
North Korea has acknowledged watching the political turmoil across its southern border. On Friday, North Korea's state-controlled news agency reported that "severe socio-political confusion" is spiraling in South Korea.
"The pro-Yoon clan of the ruling 'People Power Party' is shielding Yoon, displeased with the warrant issued for arresting him, for their dirty partisan interests," the situation was described by KCNA. "It seeks to reverse the impeachment-oriented trend, frontally challenging the public demand for impeachment."
Investigators are seeking to detain Yoon before the deadline on the warrants expire on Monday, which led to a standoff between them and the Presidential Security Service on Friday.
But the warrant's legality has been questioned by law experts because it specified that certain key provisions of South Korea's Criminal Procedure Act should be excluded. By excluding those measures, the police were effectively given the ability to search the military and government-classified presidential residence.
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The Presidential Security Service has since find itself caught in the crosshairs of the dispute by continuing to refuse entry to investigators and leading police and prosecutors to seek charges against the head of the agency for the obstruction of justice.
Yoon's supporters have also been camping outside his home to protect him from "pro-North Korean forces" that they allege are seeking to steal his presidency, ABC News reported.
North Korea has acknowledged watching the political turmoil across its southern border. On Friday, North Korea's state-controlled news agency reported that "severe socio-political confusion" is spiraling in South Korea.
"The pro-Yoon clan of the ruling 'People Power Party' is shielding Yoon, displeased with the warrant issued for arresting him, for their dirty partisan interests," the situation was described by KCNA. "It seeks to reverse the impeachment-oriented trend, frontally challenging the public demand for impeachment."
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