(Bloomberg) — South Korean investigators sought a warrant on Monday to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol after the impeached leader repeatedly defied summons to appear for questioning over his martial law declaration.
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A joint investigation team made the request to a Seoul court a day after Yoon didn’t appear for scheduled questioning by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials for the third time. The previous two summons were for Dec. 18 and Christmas Day.
South Korea is experiencing one of its most tumultuous periods in years after Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, which led to his impeachment and subsequently that of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who briefly served as acting leader. The political chaos is compounded by the country’s worst civil aviation accident after a Jeju Air flight crashed on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on-board.
A court will determine whether to issue the arrest warrant for Yoon, though it’s not clear when that decision will be made. If granted, he would be the first sitting president in the country’s history to be arrested while still in office.
Yoon’s representatives said the investigation team does not have legal grounds to seek a warrant for the president, according to Yonhap News, but didn’t specify who should lead the investigation. Yoon’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Even if the court issues the warrant, it’s uncertain if the investigative authorities would be able to take the president into custody. A previous attempt by the police to search the presidential office was blocked by Yoon’s office.
The president’s decision to repeatedly avoid questioning and challenge the investigators’ authority appears aimed at delaying the proceedings against him, said Lee Chang-hyun, a law professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
Yoon has vowed to keep defending himself, signaling his intent to fight in court to stay in office and insisting that his martial law decree was within his constitutional powers. Meanwhile, a trial is ongoing to decide whether to reinstate or permanently remove Yoon from office. It has until June to make a decision, and the next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who became acting president on Friday after Han’s impeachment, is facing a big challenge just two days into the job. He called for strict investigation into the plane crash and asked the transport ministry to conduct an emergency safety inspection of the entire airline system.
