A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who shocked the nation into political turmoil with his surprise declaration of martial law nearly one month ago.
A sitting South Korean president is the subject of an arrest warrant for the first time.
The South Korean parliament voted to impeach Yoon earlier this month, robbing him of his presidential powers. Several members of his own ruling party made this decision in response to Yoon’s refusal to resign over the December 3 decree.
The Seoul Western District Court issued the warrant for Yoon on Tuesday, according to South Korea’s anti-corruption agency. Yoon is facing charges of rebellion orchestration and abuse of authority.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) detained Yoon, a former prosecutor, after he refused three summonses from investigators in recent weeks.
The warrant would authorize investigators to detain Yoon for a maximum of 48 hours in order to conduct an interview. In order to continue his detention, the CIO would be required to submit an application for a secondary warrant within that time frame.
Yoon faces multiple investigations, including charges of insurrection, which can result in life in prison or the death penalty.
Yoon Kab-keun, the president’s lawyer, referred to the issuance of an arrest warrant as illegal and invalid during a press conference on Tuesday.
The CIO’s warrant request was “not transparent, and it was made by an agency that is clearly not authorized by law,” Yoon said.
