The Corruption Investigation Office of Senior Officials (CIO) requested the South Korean police to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol in an official document on the evening of January 5, when there was only one day left before the warrant for his arrest expired.
“The CIO sent us an official document requesting cooperation without prior consultation. We are conducting an internal legal review,” a police official told Yonhap.
On December 3, the CIO suspended the execution of the arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol after an hours-long confrontation with presidential security personnel at the presidential palace.
The CIO has been working with the police and the investigation unit of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense to conduct a joint investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law on December 3.
Yonhap said that as the arrest warrant is about to expire, the CIO is expected to make a second attempt to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol or request an extension of the arrest warrant, among other options.
President Yoon Suk Yeol's legal team has dismissed the order as illegal, noting that the CIO is not technically authorized to investigate the insurrection charges President Yoon Suk Yeol faces in connection with the imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024.
