Thousands brave snow to protest as Yoon arrest deadline nears

Thousands of South Koreans braved a snowstorm yesterday to rally in support or opposition of President Yoon Suk-yeol, suspended over a failed martial law bid and resisting arrest a day before the warrant expires.
Yoon plunged the country into political chaos last month with the bungled martial law declaration and has since holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by hundreds of loyal security officers.
An attempt to arrest him by investigators on Friday failed when a tense six-hour standoff with his presidential security service ended over security fears, with his supporters also camped outside.
Thousands descended on his residence again yesterday despite bitter snow conditions blanketing the capital – with one camp demanding Yoon’s arrest while the other called for his impeachment to be declared invalid.
“Snow is nothing for me. They can bring all the snow and we’ll still be here,” said anti-Yoon protester Lee Jin-ah, 28, who had previously worked at a coffee shop.
“I quit my job to come to protect our country and democracy,” she said, adding that she had camped outside the residence overnight.
“We have to re-establish the foundation of our society by punishing the president who has denied the constitution,” said Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, a major labour group that joined the protests. “We must bring down the criminal Yoon Suk-yeol and arrest and detain him as soon as possible.”
Nearby, Yoon supporters held placards reading “We will fight for President Yoon Suk-yeol” and “Stop the Steal”, a phrase popularised by US President-elect Donald Trump’s supporters after he lost the 2020 election.
Park Young-chul, in his 70s, said the snowstorm wouldn’t deter him from showing up to back Yoon before the warrant expires at midnight today (1500 GMT).
“I went through war and -20° Celsius in the snow to fight the commies. This snow is nothing. Our war is happening again,” he told AFP.
The rallies in the cold come as Yoon this week pledged to “fight” those trying to question his short-lived power grab.
He faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.
If the warrant is executed, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
A prosecutors’ report for his former defence minister seen by AFP yesterday showed that Yoon ignored the objections of key cabinet ministers before his failed martial law bid.
It said the country’s then prime minister, foreign minister and finance minister all expressed reservations about the potential economic and diplomatic fallout in a cabinet meeting on the night of the decision.
The country’s opposition Democratic Party called on Saturday for the dissolution of the security service protecting Yoon.
Their announcement followed scenes of high drama on Friday, when hundreds of Yoon’s guards and military troops shielded him from investigators who eventually called off the arrest attempt citing safety concerns.
Yesterday presidential security service chief Park Jong-joon said that he had no intention of letting the investigators arrest Yoon by today’s deadline, because those under his charge were legally obliged to protect the country’s sitting leader.
“Executing an arrest warrant amid allegations of procedural and legal impropriety undermines the PSS’s fundamental mission of securing the President’s absolute safety,” Park, who has denied a police request for questioning, said in a speech.
“Please refrain from insulting remarks that the presidential security service has been reduced to a private army,” he added, pointing out that it had provided security to all presidents for 60 years, regardless of political affiliation.
Late yesterday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul, likely to wade into the crisis of a key security ally in talks today with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul (see accompanying report above).
Yoon’s lawyers decried the warrant underpinning Friday’s arrest attempt as “unlawful and invalid”, and filed an objection to the Seoul court that issued it.
However, the court told AFP yesterday that the objection case was dismissed, saying that the reasons could not be disclosed.
Yoon’s lawyer said they would file another complaint against the head of the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) that tried to arrest Yoon.
The president’s legal team “intend to hold those who committed illegal acts strictly accountable under the law”, Yoon Kab-keun said in a statement.
The Constitutional Court slated January 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which if he does not attend would continue in his absence.
However the suspended leader plans to appear at “an appropriate session” of the trial’s five hearings, lawyer Yoon said yesterday.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to determine whether to dismiss Yoon as president or restore his powers.
Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye never appeared for their impeachment trials.