By Choe Sang-Hun, Jin Yu Young and Victoria Kim
A little more than a year ago, President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea expressed a bold demeanor when faced with the impending impeachment threats from the opposition-led National Assembly. “I say, ‘Go ahead if you want to!’” he declared at a town hall gathering.
Not only has Yoon faced impeachment, but on Wednesday, he secured an ignoble spot in South Korean history, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested amid a criminal probe.
His arrest concluded a prolonged political deadlock and raised significant concerns regarding how South Korea should address a leader who imposed martial law just a month prior, jeopardizing the country’s longstanding democratic gains.
Yet, Seoul’s failure to address the matter expediently — needing to deploy a significant force of law enforcement to compel his surrender — revealed the deep divisions present in its politics. This entrenched political divide, coupled with Yoon’s inflexible approach and his personal vendetta against his political opponents, led him to confront police on Wednesday at the hilltop residence where he had taken refuge.
Since winning his election by a narrow margin in 2022, Yoon has consistently found himself at odds with the majority opposition over various policies, scandals involving his spouse, and his antagonistic relationship with dissidents, including journalists he accused of disseminating “false information.”
His frustration peaked on Dec. 3, when he declared martial law, referring to his liberal adversaries as “anti-state forces” and labeling the opposition-dominated National Assembly as “a monster.” This law banned all political activities and placed media outlets under military oversight, though before Yoon could implement these measures, the National Assembly nullified his martial law declaration.
During the six-hour period of martial law, he instructed military leaders to forcibly breach the Assembly’s doors “with axes” or “by shooting, if needed,” and “remove” lawmakers, as recorded by prosecutors who have charged military generals with aiding Yoon in insurrection.
Despite the Assembly rejecting his decree and subsequently impeaching him, Yoon remained resolute, pledging to “fight until the very end.” He barricaded himself in his elevated residence in central Seoul — guarded by security personnel, coils of barbed wire, and rows of buses. Numerous summons from investigators to answer questions relating to insurrection charges went unheeded by Yoon.
When investigators attempted to serve a detainment warrant at his presidential palace on Jan. 3, he resisted arrest, and his 200 presidential security officers formed a human wall against 100 investigators and police. On Wednesday, those investigators mobilized 1,000 police officers, including specialized units targeting drug and organized crime, to storm the complex once more in overwhelming numbers.
Some officers brought aluminum ladders to scale the bus barricades obstructing the road to Yoon’s residence. His bodyguards refrained from opposing the investigators after warnings that any resistance would lead to their arrest for obstructing justice. At the entrance of his residence, investigators spent two hours negotiating with Yoon’s supporters. The president’s legal team proposed that if investigators withdrew, Yoon would attend their headquarters with his presidential security detail to submit to questioning.
However, the investigators were unwilling to concede. At 10:33 a.m., they executed the warrant.
Yoon did receive some leniency: he was not handcuffed while being transported to the investigators’ offices south of Seoul in a motorcade through congested morning traffic. Upon arrival, he was directed to a third-floor room for a lengthy interrogation. Investigators indicated they had 200 pages of questions prepared, though a lawmaker from Yoon’s party who met with him prior to his detention hinted that the president would assert his right to remain silent.
In a video message shortly after his removal, Yoon stated he agreed to cooperate with questioning to avoid a “bloody” confrontation between his bodyguards and law enforcement. Nevertheless, he proclaimed the investigation and the warrant for his detainment as unlawful.
For many analysts, his outcome seems predetermined.
The investigators have a 48-hour window to question him, after which they may pursue a separate court warrant for his formal arrest. Given that courts have already consented to the arrests of Yoon’s associates due to his martial law declaration, it is likely they would also approve his arrest, according to analysts. Should he be arrested, the investigators and prosecutors must formally indict him within 20 days.
Additionally, this week, the country’s Constitutional Court commenced assessments to determine the legitimacy of the Assembly’s vote on Dec. 14 to impeach Yoon and whether he should be officially removed from his position.
In an extensive statement shared on his Facebook account Wednesday, Yoon again promoted a conspiracy narrative popular among his base, asserting that his martial law announcement was partially motivated by pervasive voting fraud in South Korea.
“Yoon’s arrest marks the initial step towards reestablishing constitutional order, democracy, and the rule of law,” commented Park Chan-dae, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party. “Though delayed, it affirms that our nation’s law enforcement and justice systems endure.”
However, Yoon’s People Power Party has rejected both his impeachment and his arrest. The party ousted a leader who favored Yoon’s impeachment and demanded the expulsion of a lawmaker who supported the proceedings.
“The motive behind their insistence on detaining the president was to bring him shame,” Kwon Young-se, an interim leader of the party, remarked on Wednesday. “They aimed to elevate their own status by apprehending a sitting president.”
The fierce competition among political parties allows little room for dialogue and compromise as the country attempts to navigate through its most severe political turmoil in several decades. Following a significant drop in approval ratings for Yoon’s party post-martial law, there has been a recent uptick in support as the politically polarized environment resurfaces.
