South Korea's impeached president resists arrest over martial law bid, vows to 'fight until end'
Yoon Suk Yeol has gone to ground but remained unrepentant as the crisis has rolled on, issuing a defiant message to his base days before an arrest warrant expires on Jan 6.
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SEOUL: South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol remained defiantly inside his residence resisting arrest for a third day on Thursday (Jan 2), after vowing to "fight" authorities seeking to question him over his failed martial law bid.
He also sent a letter rallying his supporters saying he would "fight until the end".
"I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing," Yoon wrote in the letter late on Wednesday to the estimated hundreds of supporters who have gathered near his official residence protesting his investigation.
"I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you," he said in the letter, a photo capture of which was sent to Reuters by Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon.
The opposition Democratic Party, which has majority control of parliament and led the impeachment of Yoon on Dec 14, said the letter proved Yoon was delusional and remains committed to complete his "insurrection".
"As if trying to stage insurrection wasn't enough, he is now inciting his supporters to an extreme clash," party spokesman Jo Seoung-lae said in a statement.
Supporters of Yoon camped outside his presidential residence laid on the ground to impede police on Thursday, while members of his security team have blocked earlier attempted police raids in a dramatic stand-off.
"We expect the CIO (Corruption Investigation Office) will enter through the main gate ... to arrest President Yoon, so our colleagues are lying down at the moment to prevent them," pro-Yoon protester Rhee Kang-san told AFP.
The protesters shouted "protect the president, protect, protect, protect!" as police tried to disperse those lying on the ground and control the crowd, which included a rival anti-Yoon rally.
Yoon has gone to ground but remained unrepentant as the crisis has rolled on, issuing the defiant message to his base days before the arrest warrant expires on Jan 6.
"The Republic of Korea is currently in danger due to internal and external forces threatening its sovereignty, and the activities of anti-state elements," he said in a statement passed around to protesters, his lawyer Yoon Kab-keun confirmed to AFP.
Yoon Kab-keun also said the impeached leader remained inside the presidential compound.
The lawyer added that the warrant for Yoon's arrest was illegal and invalid because the CIO did not have the authority under South Korean law to request a warrant.
He warned that police officers would face arrest by "the presidential security service or any citizens" if they tried to detain Yoon on behalf of the CIO, saying their authority is limited to crowd control and maintaining public order.
BLOCKED RAIDS
CIO chief Oh Dong-woon warned that anyone trying to block authorities from arresting Yoon could themselves face prosecution.
Along with the summons, a Seoul court issued a search warrant for his official residence and other locations, a CIO official told AFP.
The presidential security service's official stance has been to treat the warrants with due process.
It remains unclear how many guards are stationed with him but they have blocked searches of his office and residence.
They have cited two articles in South Korea's Criminal Procedure Act that prohibit seizure from locations where official secrets are stored, without the consent of the person in charge.
South Korean officials have previously failed to execute arrest warrants for lawmakers - in 2000 and 2004 - due to party members and supporters blocking police for the seven-day period the warrant was valid.
However, discussions between prosecutors and police about Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest are taking place, in the background of the political crisis that saw the country briefly lurch back to the dark days of military rule.
REFUSED QUESTIONING
The martial law order, which Yoon Suk Yeol said was aimed at eliminating "anti-state elements", only lasted a few hours.
Armed troops stormed the national assembly building, scaling fences, smashing windows and landing by helicopter, but the president was quickly forced to make a U-turn after lawmakers rushed to parliament to vote it down.
He was then stripped of his presidential duties by parliament and now faces criminal charges of insurrection.
Yoon has since refused summonses for questioning three times and doubled down on claims the opposition was in league with South Korea's communist enemies.
Supporters have raced to Seoul to support him in the wake of his refusal, spewing vitriol at police and waving anti-impeachment placards.
A constitutional court will rule whether to uphold Yoon's impeachment. It will hold its second hearing on Friday.
If the court upholds the impeachment and Yoon is removed from office, a new presidential election will be held within 60 days.
The turmoil deepened late last week when his replacement, Han Duck-soo, was also impeached by parliament for failing to sign bills for investigations into his predecessor.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has been installed as acting president and pledged to do all he can to end the political upheaval.
He has since decided to appoint two new judges to the constitutional court, a key demand of the opposition, but was criticised by Yoon Suk Yeol's staff as overstepping his powers.
Choi took office on Friday and found himself immediately thrust into handling a disaster, after a Jeju Air plane crashed on Sunday, claiming 179 lives.
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