South Korea’s special prosecutor has asked for a new arrest warrant for ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, ramping up the probe into his contentious bid to impose martial law, an official confirmed Tuesday.
Yoon, already in a criminal trial for insurrection, was first arrested in January when he resisted detention but was later freed after 52 days because of technical legal reasons. The warrant of arrest has now been requested on grounds of obstruction, said Park Ji-young, a senior investigator in the special prosecutor’s office.
Park accused Yoon of disregarding legal summonses and asserted that investigators would not be held up. “We will not be taken around in circles by him,” she stated in a televised address. Yoon’s lawyers reacted, asserting the former president was never properly summoned since the special prosecutor initiated his investigation and promised cooperation once proper legal procedures were observed.
Yoon has been in the dock since his December bid to declare martial law a step that shocked a country proud of its democratic development since the end of military dictatorship in the 1980s. His move saw him get removed from office in April and triggered an emergency presidential election, which liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung won.
Once in office on June 4, President Lee appointed a special prosecutor and brought together more than 200 officials to lead investigations against Yoon. Yoon’s crimes include masterminding insurrection a crime that can attract a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death.
Yoon has justified his action, claiming he imposed martial law on Dec 3 to safeguard democracy from what he called threats by the then-opposition Democratic Party. His bid to hold on to power resulted in a political crisis, with security troops momentarily sealing off the presidential compound at the beginning of his standoff with investigators.