A Seoul court has granted the investigators’ request for an arrest warrant against suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is likely to be the first serving president to be taken into custody during his term.
Yoon’s failure to comply with multiple summonses and his obstruction of searches at his offices led to the investigators’ request for the warrant.
If Yoon is taken into custody, the investigators must decide within 48 hours whether to request a further arrest warrant for further questioning or release him.
Yoon’s defenders have called the issued arrest warrant “unlawful and invalid” because it was issued by an investigative authority with no effective jurisdiction.
The investigators accuse Yoon of inciting a rebellion and abusing his power when he declared a state of emergency and deployed troops to the National Assembly on December 3.
The arrest warrant was requested for charges of incitement to rebellion and abuse of power, as the president’s immunity from prosecution does not apply in cases of incitement to rebellion or treason.