Authorities Seek To Arrest South Korean President Over Martial Law Decree

Law enforcement officials in South Korea requested a court warrant to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday, nearly a month after the country’s National Assembly unanimously struck down the president’s martial law decree.

The arrest warrant was requested by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military into Yoon’s martial law decree, the Associated Press reported. Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly on December 14, and now, the nine justices of South Korea’s Constitutional Court must determine whether to remove Yoon from office.

Yoon’s lawyer slammed the arrest warrant request and filed a challenge in the same court, according to the AP.

“An incumbent president cannot be prosecuted for abuse of power,” the lawyer said. “Of course, there are differing academic opinions on whether a president can be investigated for abuse of power and some assert that investigations are possible. But even when investigations are allowed, the prevailing opinion is that they should be exercised with the utmost restraint.”

Yoon, a conservative, declared martial law on December 3 in what he said was an effort “to defend the free Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces and to eradicate the shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces.” The declaration sent shockwaves across the country and the world.

Yoon was also accused of sending the military to prevent the National Assembly from voting to undo the president’s martial law decree. The National Assembly eventually voted 190-0 to end martial law.

Former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun was arrested following the martial law decree and reportedly tried to commit suicide while in detention. Kim is accused of urging Yoon to declare martial law. The former defense minister was the first official arrested over the martial law decree. He said in a statement that he “deeply apologizes for causing significant anxiety.”

Yoon maintains that martial law was necessary and said he did not send the military to disrupt the National Assembly. The president argued that the martial law decree was a warning to the liberal Democratic Party, which has the majority in the National Assembly.

In a speech announcing martial law, Yoon cited an unworkable relationship with the opposition-led National Assembly, which had targeted 22 officials for impeachment since Yoon took office in 2022 and, according to Yoon, planned to target 10 more officials. The president also cited National Assembly reductions in the national budget, which he said “undermined the essential functions of the state and turned Korea into a drug paradise and a public order panic.”

Last April, liberals won the parliamentary elections in a landslide, strengthening the Democratic Party’s hold on the National Assembly.

Tim Pearce contributed to this report.