President Yoon Suk Yeol was detained in a large-scale law enforcement operation at the presidential residence Wednesday, on charges of masterminding an insurrection and committing abuse of power, becoming the first sitting president in South Korean history to be taken into custody.
The second attempt of the joint probe team that lasted nearly seven hours: from 4:10 a.m., when the team of some 1,100 investigators and police began to arrive at the presidential residence compound, to 11 a.m. when the president was taken to the headquarters of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, 16 kilometers south of the compound in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul.
The CIO, the agency leading the joint probe, said it had begun investigating Yoon as of 11 a.m. over his martial law declaration on Dec. 3. The warrant allows the agency to hold him up to 48 hours and could hold him for longer -- up to eight more days -- if it requests an additional formal arrest warrant from the court, citing the risk of flight.
While investigating him, the CIO must transfer the case to the prosecution for indictment. Only the prosecution holds the authority to indict a president, whereas the CIO has the authority to investigate one for abuse of power. The prosecution could also hold him for 10 additional days, before it decides whether to indict him or not.
Yoon was taken into custody 43 days after he abruptly declared martial law on Dec. 3, throwing the nation into an unprecedented political crisis.
He was identified as the mastermind behind the alleged insurrection by imposing martial law, and is accused of conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to prevent the lifting of the martial law by deploying armed troops to blockade the National Assembly. Minister Kim and other generals involved in the plot have been arrested and indicted. In a briefing Wednesday afternoon, the CIO said that Yoon was exercising his right to remain silent, but was unsure of the reason behind his silence.
”The questioning was held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. He refused to be recorded on video and continued to remain silent. A lunchbox was provided, but we did not confirm whether he ate it or not,” a CIO official who declined to be named told the reporters.
The official added that the CIO did not empty the entire floor or building for Yoon's questioning.
“Some PSS personnel were stationed on the third floor, where the video-recording interrogation room for questioning is located, for the president’s security,” he said.
The CIO also confirmed that the president will be held at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.
When asked about the possibility of detaining the president in a different facility, the CIO official said that the Seoul Detention Center is the facility specified in the court-issued warrant.
Hours after Yoon's detention, Yoon expressed his wish to resist and fight against what he called the "parliamentary dictatorship" in a lengthy handwritten letter to people posted on his Facebook account.
"As the president who is entitled to defend the Constitution, resisting and fighting is something we must do to normalize the country's operations and defend free democracy," Yoon wrote in the letter.
Yoon also defended his martial law declaration, reiterating his stance that the short-lived armed force deployment cannot constitute an insurrection.
"Martial law declaration is not a crime. Martial law is something that a president can exercise to overcome national crises," read Yoon's letter.
This followed his prerecorded speech released by his legal representatives immediately after he was taken into custody.
There, Yoon said he was complying with an "illegal and invalid" investigation to prevent "bloodshed" between the police and presidential security, and for the safety of the people rallying outside the presidential residence.
"The rule of law has completely collapsed in this country," he said. "Although I am facing these disadvantages, I sincerely hope that no citizen will ever have to endure such injustices when dealing with criminal cases in the future."
South Korea's elected leader was detained by the joint probe team that deployed over a thousand investigators and police personnel to enter the heavily guarded presidential residential compound. Veteran personnel of the police’s Mobile Detective Unit, Narcotics Investigation Unit and Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit were reportedly dispatched for the warrant execution, separated into two teams to detain Yoon and handle the confrontation with his presidential bodyguards, respectively.
Beginning the operation at 4:10 a.m., the team passed through three sets of barricades on their way to Yoon's residence from its main gate, which were set up by Yoon's security guards to deter the investigators' access to the presidential residence.
It was widely expected that investigators would execute the court-issued, extended warrant on Wednesday, 12 days after their aborted first attempt. They withdrew from the residence on Jan. 3, citing safety concerns after facing approximately 200 armed PSS and military personnel.
Unlike the first attempt, Wednesday's operation went smoothly with the majority of the presidential security officers defying orders from leadership, according to news reports. The presidential bodyguards did not prevent the police officers from climbing over a barricade of multiple buses, unlike in the first attempt. No physical conflict occurred on Wednesday, according to the CIO.
For over a week, the joint team has been pressuring the Presidential Security Service, summoning its head, Park Jong-joon, who resigned last week, and others on allegations of obstructing authorities' efforts to execute the warrant. The extended warrant to detain Yoon over his short-lived martial law declaration is reportedly set to expire on Jan. 21.
Police announced Wednesday that deputy chief of the PSS Kim Sung-hoon and the head of the Bodyguard Division Lee Kwang-woo would be arrested for obstructing the probe team's warrant execution on Jan. 3, once they appear at the police for questioning later on. Both had warrants for their detention issued against them Tuesday night.
After Yoon was detained, ruling People Power Party interim leader Rep. Kwon Young-se said it was the president who decided to appear before the CIO, but that the party would hold the agency legally responsible for executing an "illegal warrant."
Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Rep. Park Chan-dae, meanwhile, said Yoon's detention is "the first step toward the restoration of constitutional order, democracy and the realization of the rule of law."
"I am truly relieved to confirm that the public power and justice of South Korea are still alive," he said.
After Yoon was detained, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in statement that the US remains committed to working with the government in Seoul and appreciates all its and its citizens' efforts "to act in accordance with the Constitution."
Yoshimasa Hayashi, a top Japanese government spokesperson, told a daily news briefing that Tokyo was following developments in South Korea "with particular and serious interest."
Yoon is the first South Korean sitting president to be detained and investigated by law enforcement authorities. Former President Park Geun-hye were indicted after her impeachment was upheld at the Constitutional Court, while her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, went through the questioning and was indicted after he stepped down from the post.
Park had been summoned by the prosecution and the special counsel respectively in late 2016 and 2017, but she rejected all summonses. Eleven days after the Constitutional Court ruling that upheld her impeachment, she, as a civilian, appeared before the prosecution and was arrested shortly after. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Supreme Court in 2021.
Former President Lee appeared before the prosecution five years after his presidency ended, on charges of bribery. He was arrested at home nine days after he was questioned by the prosecution. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2020. Both presidents were later pardoned after serving jail time for some years.
