South Korean President Yoon arrested: What happened and what’s next | Politics news

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been arrested after a dramatic and lengthy standoff with law enforcement officials.

On Wednesday, police and corruption officers scaled the walls of his residential complex, where he had been holed up for nearly two weeks, escaping arrest, shortly after his arrest. Declaration of martial law On December 3. The officers broke through the barbed wire and barricades set up by his security personnel.

Hundreds of officers overran Yoon’s small army of personal security to detain the leader after a court issued an arrest warrant.

The former president’s imposition of martial law shook the country, and it was quickly implemented He was dismissed and removed from his duties.

Yoon now faces several criminal investigations for rebellion. Here’s everything you need to know His arrest:

Who is Yoon Suk Yeol?

Yoon is a former prosecutor who led the conservative People Power Party to victory in the 2022 elections despite his lack of political experience.

Before assuming the country’s highest office, Yoon was dubbed “Mr. Clean” for prosecuting a group of prominent businessmen and politicians. Analysts told Al Jazeera At the time of his election.

The wealthy-rooted former leader achieved national notoriety in 2016, when, as the chief investigator probing then-President Park Geun-hye for corruption, he was asked if he wanted revenge, and he replied that prosecutors were not gangsters.

While in office, the former president faced challenges in advancing his agenda in the opposition-controlled parliament, and was faced with personal scandals as well as discord within his party.

What’s the latest?

After mobilizing more than 3,000 police officers to storm Yoon’s compound, the leader was arrested and taken in for questioning.

“I decided to respond to the CIO investigation, despite it being an illegal investigation, to prevent hateful bloodshed,” Yoon said in a pre-recorded video statement released shortly after his arrest. He referred to the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau, which is heading the criminal investigation.

According to Al Jazeera correspondent Patrick Fook from Seoul, this was the second attempt by investigators to bring him in after they tried to arrest him a week ago.

Yoon faces a charge of sedition, which is the only charge from which South Korean presidents are not immune. His arrest represents the first arrest of a sitting South Korean president.

What is the impact of his arrest?

Despite opinion polls showing that a majority of South Koreans do not agree with Yoon’s declaration of martial law and support his removal, the political confrontation has given his supporters oxygen, and the Pakistan People’s Party has witnessed a revival in recent weeks.

Support for the Pakistan People’s Party was 40.8 percent in the latest opinion poll released on Monday, while support for the main opposition Democratic Party was 42.2 percent, a difference that is within the poll’s margin of error and less than a gap of 10.8 percentage points in the past. week.

The narrow margin indicates that the presidential election may be close if Yoon is formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court, which is examining the legality of his removal. Previously, in the days after martial law was briefly declared, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was widely seen as the front-runner.

Aside from political influences, the weeks-long government unrest has shaken Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Some of Yun’s supporters also drew parallels between him and… United States President-elect Donald Trumpechoing Trump’s claims that the former and incoming US president was the target of a witch hunt by elites who have long controlled the levers of power. South Korea is one of Washington’s main security partners in East Asia.

Who is in charge in South Korea?

South Korea currently has an acting president, finance minister, and deputy prime minister, Choe Sang-mook.

Choi has held the position since December 27, when the Legislative Council voted to impeach Yoon The first successor, Han Dak-sooBecause of his refusal to immediately fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court.

Han has been acting president since Yoon was impeached on December 14 due to him declaring martial law and suspending his presidential powers.

After Yoon’s arrest, Choe met with diplomats from the Group of Seven countries, including the United States, Japan, Britain and Germany, as well as a representative of the European Union to reassure them that the government was stable.

How do South Koreans react?

As local radio stations reported that Yoon’s arrest was imminent, the president’s supporters descended on his residence chanting: “Stop the steal!” “Illegal!” and waving glow sticks next to the flags of South Korea and the United States.

The “Stop the Steal” slogans refer to Yoon’s unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud in the April parliamentary elections, which the opposition won – one of the reasons Yoon gave to justify declaring martial law. It was also used by Trump and his supporters when he falsely claimed that he won the 2020 presidential election in the United States.

“Police estimate that up to 6,500 (former president) supporters came out during the night and urged their leader to continue fighting,” Phuc said.

Some of his supporters also lay on the ground outside the main gate of the residential complex.

“It is very sad to see our country collapsing,” Kim Woo-sub, a 70-year-old retiree who was protesting Yoon’s arrest outside his home, told Reuters news agency.

“I still have high expectations that Trump will support our president. He said election fraud is something they have in common, but the United States also needs South Korea to fight China.

A witness at the scene, cited by Reuters, said that minor clashes broke out between pro-Leon demonstrators and police near the house.

Fook said many other South Koreans are angry and believe Yoon “avoided facing responsibility for the failure of martial law.”

“I think it is wrong that the rebel leader does not face any legal consequences, and even though an arrest warrant has been issued, he continues to resist it,” Cho Soon Ah, an opponent of Leon’s protester, told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party praised Yoon’s arrest and a senior official described it as the “first step” to restore the constitutional and legal order.

The speaker of the country’s parliament echoed these sentiments.

“We should focus our efforts on stabilizing state affairs and restoring people’s livelihoods,” Woo Won-shik said.

What’s next?

Authorities now have 48 hours to question Yoon, after which they must request an arrest warrant on charges of attempted rebellion or he will be released.

If Yoon is formally arrested, investigators may extend his detention for 20 days before referring the case to prosecutors for indictment.

However, according to a CIO official, Yoon refuses to speak and has not agreed to be videotaped interviews with investigators.

Yoon’s lawyers said the initial arrest warrant issued for Yoon was illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction, and the team formed to investigate him did not have a legal mandate to do so.

A CIO official said presidential guards were stationed on the CIO floor where Yoon is being interrogated, but he will likely be detained at the Seoul Detention Center, where other prominent South Korean figures are being held, including former President Park and Samsung Electronics Chairman Jae. Wow. Lee, also spent some time.

Yoon faces the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted of rebellion.

In a parallel investigation, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday began a trial to rule on the accountability of the Lyon Parliament.

If the court upholds the accusation, Yoon will ultimately lose the presidency, and elections must be held within 60 days.

The opening of the trial was postponed on Tuesday after only a short hearing because Yoon refused to attend, but the proceedings could continue for several months.