In South Korea, President Yoon Seok Yeol was detained for the second time — this happened against the backdrop of the fact that in December he declared martial law in the country.
This is reported by the AP and Yonhap.
Yoon Seok Yeol said that "the rule of law has completely collapsed" in the country, but he executed the arrest warrant to avoid clashes between law enforcement and presidential guards.
The latter initially blocked access to the president and insisted that the anti-corruption agency had no authority to investigate the president’s actions. To enter the president’s residence, investigators used ladders — security guards set up a barricade of vehicles, blocking the entrance to the complex. The entrance was blocked by a group of parliamentarians from the pro-government People’s Power party and lawyers for Yoon Seok Yeol.
At the same time, this time, according to law enforcement officers, there were no physical clashes with the presidentʼs security guards.
What preceded
South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol declared martial law in the country on the night of December 3-4 to “protect the constitutional order” — the first time since the 1980s. The reason was that the opposition Democratic Party of South Korea, which has a majority in parliament, rejected the government’s budget proposal and decided to impeach the state auditor and the attorney general.
In total, martial law lasted about six hours, but it caused a sharp internal crisis — now the president is being called to resign. On December 8, he was informed of suspicion of treason and abuse of power and banned from traveling abroad.
On December 14, the South Korean parliament supported a bill to impeach President Yoon Seok Yeol.
On January 3, South Koreaʼs presidential guard and military personnel obstructed the execution of an arrest warrant for Yoon Seok Yeol, prompting the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) to suspend the arrest. The standoff lasted five hours.
- Yoon Seok Yeol has low approval ratings in the country, in particular due to rising food and housing prices, labor conflicts and a sharp decline in the birth rate. The presidentʼs reputation has also been under attack due to a hidden camera video showing First Lady Kim Geun Hee allegedly accepting a $2 200 Dior bag as a gift.
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