SEOUL : South Korean authorities have suspended an attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol after an hours-long standoff with his security team.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said on Friday that it had decided to halt its bid to detain Yoon over his short-lived declaration of martial law after the Presidential Security Service (PSS) blocked its investigators from entering his residence.
Meanwhile, Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, has criticised Yoon for not upholding his promise to take legal and political responsibility for his botched martial law attempt.
“[It was] a complete lie,” Park said, urging the CIO to attempt to arrest Yoon again today.
The CIO, which has only been operating for four years, was created in response to public anger over former president Park Geun-hye and her excesses. She was impeached by parliament in December 2016, and removed from office three months after.
The extent of the CIO’s jurisdiction, however, has been challenged by other agencies – and its failure to deal with Yoon could be seen as an embarrassingly loss.
South Korea has been in political chaos since Yoon’s martial law attempt on 3 Dec.
Days and nights of protest culminated in the opposition-dominated parliament voting to impeach him on 14 December, their second attempt to do so.
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On Friday, prosecutors also indicted on insurrection charges army chief Park An-su, who was named martial law commander during the brief declaration, and special forces commander Kwak Jong-geun, according to Seoul-based news outlet Yonhap.
They are to face trial while in prison.
