President Yoon Suk-yeol has been staying at the presidential residence and being protected by bodyguards since being suspended from office and impeached in December 2024. These developments came after President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law on December 3, plunging South Korea into political chaos.
President Yoon Suk Yeol refuses to meet with prosecutors, investigators. Presidential guards blocked an attempt to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol, with a tense standoff lasting several hours earlier this month.
The Constitutional Court of South Korea has scheduled five hearings for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol from January 14 to February 4. The court will hold the trial in absentia if Yoon Suk Yeol does not attend. The court will decide whether to uphold the impeachment or reinstate President Yoon Suk Yeol.
"There are safety concerns and potential incidents. Therefore, the president will not attend the trial on January 14. The president is ready to appear at any time when safety issues are resolved," lawyer Yoon Kab Keun representing President Yoon Suk Yeol told AFP.
Investigators seeking to question President Yoon Suk Yeol on sedition charges related to the declaration of martial law are now preparing to launch another attempt to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol.
President Yoon Suk Yeol's lawyer has repeatedly stressed that the original seven-day arrest warrant as well as the new warrant that investigators expect to obtain this week are both illegal.
Investigators are keeping secret the duration of the new arrest warrant, while South Korean media reported that it is likely to be longer than the previous seven-day warrant.
According to AFP, the president's legal team said that President Yoon Suk Yeol's bodyguards are still on "high alert".
Yoon Suk Yeol would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested if investigators are able to arrest him. If impeached, Yoon Suk Yeol could face a prison sentence or even the death penalty.
A group of Corrupt Practices Investigation Office (CIO) officials and police are planning their next, possibly final, attempt to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol.
According to the CIO, anyone who interferes with the organization’s efforts could be arrested. South Korean police reportedly held a meeting of senior commanders on January 10 to plan how to execute the new arrest warrant.
Former Presidential Security Service (PSS) chief Park Chong Jun, who resigned on January 10, said there would be no bloodshed in the second arrest attempt.
According to Yonhap, the National Bureau of Investigation - a police unit - sent a notice to senior police officials in Seoul asking them to prepare to mobilize 1,000 investigators for a new effort to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Amid the ongoing crisis, support for President Yoon Suk-yeol's ruling party has risen. A Gallup poll released last week showed the People Power Party's approval rating rising to 34 percent from 24 percent three weeks ago.
