South Korea latest: Investigators fail to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol after standoff with presidential security – UK Times

South Korean investigators left the president’s official residence after a nearly six-hour standoff during which he defied their attempt to detain him.

In a statement, investigators said they “judge that the arrest is practically impossible to carry out due to sustained standoff”.

“We are concerned for the safety of the team on the ground,” it added.

They said the next steps will be planned after a review.

“We find the attitude of the accused who refused the legal process…deeply regrettable”. The agency expressed “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law.”

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials have said they will suspend the execution of the arrest warrant for president Yoon Suk Yeol, reported Yonhap.

North Korea’s state media today reported on the crisis in neighbouring South Korea, describing the situation as “politically paralyzed and socially chaotic”.

“In puppet South Korea, an unprecedented impeachment took place following the 3 December martial law incident, and a detention warrant was issued for the president, paralyzing state affairs and further deepening social and political chaos,” the Korean Central News Agency reported.

The report described the political chaos in detail, including the impending execution of an arrest warrant against impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol.

“Foreign media have criticized that South Korea has been thrown deeper into a political storm,” the KCNA said.

North Korea has largely remained tightlipped on the happenings in South Korea and first reported it on 16 December, days after the botched martial law imposition.

The report was published on the sixth page of the Rodong Sinmun daily, which caters to the general readership in North Korea.

Prosecutors on Friday indicted army chief Park An Su and special forces commander Kwak Jong Geun for their alleged role in imposing martial law on the orders on Yoon Suk Yeol.

Army chief Park, who served as martial law commander, and Mr Kwak, were indicted under detention on charges of insurrection and abuse of power, according to the Yonhap.

Mr Kwak has been accused of sending special operations forces to the National Assembly under orders of Mr Yoon to secure the building.

oon Suk Yeol, who narrowly won the presidency in 2022, has been facing mounting unpopularity since taking office.

Already weakened by a crushing parliamentary election defeat for his party earlier this year, his approval ratings had plummeted to 17 per cent before this week’s events.

The chaos began on 3 December when Mr Yoon justified his martial law declaration citing threats from North Korea and the need to eliminate “anti-state elements”.

But the move was widely interpreted as an attempt to consolidate power in the face of his domestic struggles. Within hours, lawmakers, some from his own People Power Party, rushed to the National Assembly to block the order, while thousands of protesters took to the streets in Seoul.

Read my colleague Namita Singh’s report

An ongoing political crisis has paralysed South Korean politics as president Yoon Suk Yeol is likely to become the first sitting president in the country’s democratic history to be arrested.

It began on 3 December when Mr Yoon declared martial law and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly. He was apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by an opposition-dominated parliament.

Within hours, the parliament overturned the declaration in a unanimous vote and impeached Mr Yoon himself on 14 December, while South Korean authorities opened a criminal investigation into the events.

On 31 December, a warrant was issued to detain Mr Yoon after the president ignored multiple summons for questioning over charges of insurrection and abuse of power.

The warrant is valid until 6 January.

The leader of a rebellion can face the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted under South Korean law. Mr Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecution, but the privilege doesn’t extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.

However, experts suggest the warrant is unlikely to be executed.

A team of investigators and police officers have been in an hours-long standoff with presidential security forces to block attempts to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol.

It has been four hours since dozens of investigators and police officers were seen entering the gate of the residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for Mr Yoon’s detention, the dramatic scene appeared to have developed into a standoff.

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.

Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of deepening political crisis in South Korea as investigators execute arrest warrant against Yoon Suk Yeol