South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol evades arrest after six hours of standoff

South Korean investigators failed in their attempt to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol after encountering resistance from security and supporters of the accused president during a dramatic day that deepened the country’s political crisis.

A six-hour standoff ensued after the presidential security service clashed with a joint police team. and the Corruption Investigation Office that had arrived to arrest Mr. Yoon shortly after 7 a.m. on Friday.

In the end, the investigators left without the president.

“Execution of the arrest warrant was virtually impossible due to the continued standoff,” said the Corruption Investigation Bureau, which is leading a joint investigation with the police and military against Yoon.

“Future measures will be decided after a review. “We express our deepest regret for the suspect’s refusal to comply with legal procedures.”

The confrontation deepened the political crisis that has paralyzed South Korea and we have seen two heads of state impeached in less than a month.

The crisis was sparked by Mr. Yoon’s failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3rd.

The attempt to arrest Mr. Yoon came three days after a Seoul court issued an arrest warrant searched for prosecutors investigating whether the president’s brief statement of martial law was tantamount to an insurrection.

The order, valid until January 6, was approved after Mr. Yoon ignored multiple subpoenas to respond to accusations of insurrection and abuse of power, accusations that his lawyers described as “illegal.”

As presidential security continued to stand in the way of investigators carrying the arrest warrant, hundreds of Yoon’s supporters camped outside, shouting slogans and holding up banners reading “stop the steal.”

After the researchers left, protesters broke out into a celebration. “We won,” they chanted.

Investigators said they were outnumbered by a “human wall” of around 200 security personnel and that there were “several small and large fights” during the standoff.

Nearly 2,700 security personnel were deployed outside Yoon’s residence on Friday, state news agency Yonhap reported. They prevented about half of the 150 police and CIO officials from entering the presidential complex and blocked the rest just inside the gate.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed that investigators had passed a military unit guarding the palace grounds before encountering the security service.

The security service, which monitors the residence itself, declined to comment.

Seok Dong Hyeon, Yoon’s lawyer, said the attempt to detain the president was “reckless” and showed a “shocking disregard for the law.”

Yoon’s legal team filed a challenge to the order on Thursday arguing that it could not be carried out at his residence since the law protected locations potentially linked to military secrets from searches without the consent of the person in charge.

Mr. Yoon declaration of martial law December 3 plunged the country into a political crisis, leading to widespread protests and the dismissal of not only the president, but also his acting successor Han Duck Soo. The crisis also affected diplomacy and shook financial markets.

The martial law decree, the country’s first in 40 years, ended after only six hours when the National Assembly voted to withdraw it, despite attempts by armed soldiers to prevent them from voting.

Prosecutors on Friday filed insurrection charges against army chief Park An Su, designated martial law commander during the brief statement, as well as Special Forces commander Kwak Jong Geun, Yonhap reported.