Berliner Boersenzeitung - South Korea in political crisis after president resists arrest

EUR -
AED 3.968016
AFN 77.564216
ALL 99.343824
AMD 421.893922
ANG 1.934
AOA 990.65512
ARS 1159.028379
AUD 1.712299
AWG 1.94728
AZN 1.838515
BAM 1.956473
BBD 2.181272
BDT 131.275151
BGN 1.957445
BHD 0.407231
BIF 3210.716352
BMD 1.080322
BND 1.45104
BOB 7.464567
BRL 6.139687
BSD 1.080277
BTN 92.560545
BWP 14.829542
BYN 3.535425
BYR 21174.302677
BZD 2.169977
CAD 1.545454
CDF 3103.764153
CHF 0.955593
CLF 0.026708
CLP 1024.922525
CNY 7.854151
CNH 7.863823
COP 4499.701367
CRC 540.345867
CUC 1.080322
CUP 28.628521
CVE 110.315706
CZK 24.943977
DJF 192.374863
DKK 7.461964
DOP 68.361105
DZD 144.560015
EGP 54.637477
ERN 16.204823
ETB 143.012773
FJD 2.517744
FKP 0.838033
GBP 0.835726
GEL 2.981792
GGP 0.838033
GHS 16.742758
GIP 0.838033
GMD 77.783019
GNF 9348.123763
GTQ 8.336832
GYD 226.657957
HKD 8.406614
HNL 27.640577
HRK 7.533512
HTG 141.652488
HUF 401.093131
IDR 18046.501666
ILS 3.989946
IMP 0.838033
INR 92.411733
IQD 1415.086704
IRR 45481.538066
ISK 143.726245
JEP 0.838033
JMD 169.997352
JOD 0.76601
JPY 161.681253
KES 139.631806
KGS 93.624121
KHR 4320.906093
KMF 493.165778
KPW 972.296093
KRW 1580.445635
KWD 0.333117
KYD 0.90021
KZT 543.797033
LAK 23399.755597
LBP 96796.79223
LKR 319.819999
LRD 216.069315
LSL 19.854526
LTL 3.189908
LVL 0.653475
LYD 5.224305
MAD 10.413382
MDL 19.369903
MGA 5050.227821
MKD 61.569569
MMK 2268.022288
MNT 3760.316354
MOP 8.657878
MRU 42.974554
MUR 49.489378
MVR 16.636178
MWK 1873.226341
MXN 21.97493
MYR 4.81445
MZN 69.043797
NAD 19.852228
NGN 1658.163723
NIO 39.757538
NOK 11.282016
NPR 148.096386
NZD 1.881167
OMR 0.415904
PAB 1.080172
PEN 3.969665
PGK 4.454965
PHP 61.776048
PKR 302.673519
PLN 4.177981
PYG 8625.845065
QAR 3.939811
RON 4.978109
RSD 117.223661
RUB 90.802319
RWF 1540.479556
SAR 4.052694
SBD 9.086893
SCR 15.896935
SDG 648.192971
SEK 10.790685
SGD 1.450979
SHP 0.848963
SLE 24.604369
SLL 22653.80423
SOS 617.380919
SRD 39.533823
STD 22360.475238
SVC 9.451251
SYP 14046.184488
SZL 19.839752
THB 36.925857
TJS 11.768748
TMT 3.781125
TND 3.357643
TOP 2.530224
TRY 40.956716
TTD 7.329521
TWD 35.812507
TZS 2854.704352
UAH 44.709623
UGX 3947.357652
USD 1.080322
UYU 45.550937
UZS 13974.806487
VES 75.286324
VND 27704.846539
VUV 133.293557
WST 3.065349
XAF 656.246492
XAG 0.03178
XAU 0.000345
XCD 2.919623
XDR 0.81616
XOF 656.246492
XPF 119.331742
YER 265.758863
ZAR 20.069312
ZMK 9724.190672
ZMW 30.32952
ZWL 347.863103
  • RBGPF

    68.0000

    68

    +100%

  • RYCEF

    0.3500

    10.05

    +3.48%

  • NGG

    0.1700

    65.78

    +0.26%

  • BCC

    0.8200

    98.91

    +0.83%

  • RELX

    0.2600

    50.67

    +0.51%

  • GSK

    -0.8700

    37.87

    -2.3%

  • RIO

    0.1500

    60.23

    +0.25%

  • CMSC

    0.0400

    22.44

    +0.18%

  • BCE

    -0.1800

    22.78

    -0.79%

  • SCS

    0.3600

    11.32

    +3.18%

  • VOD

    -0.1000

    9.27

    -1.08%

  • JRI

    0.0400

    12.98

    +0.31%

  • BTI

    -0.2700

    41.1

    -0.66%

  • CMSD

    0.0100

    22.82

    +0.04%

  • AZN

    -0.9000

    72.6

    -1.24%

  • BP

    0.0200

    33.81

    +0.06%

South Korea in political crisis after president resists arrest
South Korea in political crisis after president resists arrest / Photo: Philip FONG - AFP

South Korea in political crisis after president resists arrest

South Korea's political leadership was in uncharted territory Saturday after the sitting president resisted arrest over a failed martial law decree days before the warrant expires.

Text size:

In scenes of high drama on Friday, Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential guards and military troops shielded the former star prosecutor from investigators, who called off their arrest attempt citing safety concerns.

The South Korean president was impeached and suspended last month after the bungled martial law declaration -- a political move swiftly overturned by parliament -- with a separate warrant later issued for his arrest.

"There was a standoff. While we estimated the personnel blocking us to be around 200, there could have been more," an official from the investigation team said Friday on condition of anonymity.

"It was a dangerous situation."

Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.

If carried out, the warrant would make Yoon the first sitting president ever arrested.

Since his impeachment, Yoon has holed up in his presidential residence in the capital Seoul, where he has refused to emerge for questioning three times.

The unprecedented showdown -- which reportedly included clashes but no shots fired -- left the arrest attempt by investigators in limbo with the court-ordered warrant set to expire on Monday.

Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is probing Yoon over his martial law decree, said there could be another bid to arrest him before then.

But if the warrant lapses, they would have to apply for another from the same Seoul court that issued the initial summons.

The Constitutional Court slated January 14 for the start of Yoon's impeachment trial, which if he does not attend would continue in his absence.

Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.

Yoon's lawyers decried Friday's arrest attempt as "unlawful and invalid", and vowed to take legal action.

Experts said investigators could wait for greater legal justification before attempting to arrest the suspended president again.

"It may be challenging to carry out the arrest until the Constitutional Court rules on the impeachment motion and strips him of the presidential title," Chae Jin-won of Humanitas College at Kyung Hee University told AFP.

- 'Stable path' -

South Korean media reported that CIO officials had wanted to arrest Yoon and take him to their office in Gwacheon near Seoul for questioning.

After that, he could have been held for up to 48 hours on the existing warrant. Investigators would have needed to apply for another arrest warrant to keep him in custody.

Yoon has remained defiant despite the political impasse he initiated with his December 3 decree.

He told his right-wing supporters this week he would fight "to the very end" for his political survival.

By the time investigators attempted to execute the warrant for Yoon's arrest, he had layered his presidential compound with hundreds of security forces to prevent it.

Around 20 investigators and 80 police officers were heavily outnumbered by around 200 soldiers and security personnel linking arms to block their way after entering the presidential compound.

A tense six-hour standoff ensued until early Friday afternoon when the investigators were forced to U-turn for fear of violence breaking out.

The weeks of political turmoil have threatened the country's stability.

South Korea's key security ally, the United States, called for the political elite to work towards a "stable path" forward.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reaffirmed Washington's commitment to maintaining bilateral ties and readiness to respond to "any external provocations or threats".

Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to hold talks in Seoul on Monday, with one eye on the political crisis and another on nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.

(Y.Yildiz--BBZ)