Top aide of impeached South Korean president pleads for investigators to halt detention efforts

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The top aide of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pleaded with law enforcement agencies on Tuesday to abandon their efforts to detain him over his imposition of martial law last month, as authorities prepared a second attempt to take him into custody.

Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk said Yoon could instead be questioned at a “third site” or at his residence and said the anti-corruption agency and police were trying to drag him out like he was a member of a “South American drug cartel.”

However, Yoon Kab-keun, one of the president’s lawyers, said Chung issued the message without consulting them and that the legal team has no immediate plan to make the president available for questioning by investigators.

Yoon Suk Yeol has not left his official residence in Seoul for weeks, and the presidential security service prevented dozens of investigators from detaining him after a nearly six-hour standoff on Jan. 3.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police pledged more forceful measures to detain Yoon while they jointly investigate whether his brief martial law declaration on Dec. 3 amounted to an attempted rebellion.

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The National Police Agency has convened multiple meetings of field commanders in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province in recent days to plan their detainment efforts, and the size of those forces fueled speculation that more than a thousand officers could be deployed in a possible multiday operation. The agency and police have openly warned that presidential bodyguards obstructing the execution of the warrant could be arrested.

The anti-corruption agency and police haven’t confirmed when they might return to the presidential residence, which has been fortified with barbed wire and rows of vehicles blocking entry paths. But Chung said he understood “D-day” to be Wednesday, without specifying the information he had.

Anti-corruption agency and police officials met with representatives of the presidential security service on Tuesday morning for unspecified discussions regarding efforts to execute the detention warrant for Yoon, the agency said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether any kind of compromise was reached.

Yoon declared martial law and deployed troops around the National Assembly on Dec. 3. It lasted only hours before lawmakers managed to get through the blockade and voted to lift the measure.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion. His fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberating on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reject the charges and reinstate him.

The Constitutional Court held its first formal hearing in the case on Tuesday. The session lasted less than five minutes because Yoon refused to attend, choosing to remain at his official residence while the detention warrant for him is active. The next hearing is set for Thursday, and the court will then proceed with the trial whether or not Yoon attends.

The country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, raised concerns on Monday about potential clashes between authorities and the presidential security service, which, despite a court warrant for Yoon’s detention, has insisted it’s obligated to protect the impeached president.

The anti-corruption agency and police have “completed preparations for a siege,” Chung said.

“They are ready to tear down the walls at any moment and handcuff President Yoon Suk Yeol, who remains isolated in his residence in Hannam-dong, and forcibly remove him,” he added, accusing investigators of trying to humiliate the president.

“Thousands of citizens are staying up through the night in front of the presidential residence, vowing to protect the president. If a conflict were to break out between the police and citizens, an unimaginable tragedy could occur.”

Over the past two weeks, thousands of anti-Yoon and pro-Yoon protesters have gathered daily in competing rallies near Yoon’s office in Seoul, anticipating another detention attempt. Yoon’s lawyers have claimed that images of him being dragged out in handcuffs could trigger a huge backlash from his supporters and spark a “civil war” in a country deeply divided over ideological and generational lines.

In preventing Yoon’s detention on Jan, 3, presidential bodyguards were assisted by troops assigned to guard the presidential residence under the command of the presidential security service. However, Defense Ministry spokesperson Lee Kyung-ho stated on Tuesday that the troops will no longer participate in efforts to block the execution of Yoon’s detention warrant and will focus solely on guarding the compound’s perimeter.