South Korea: Rallies for, against Yoon’s impeachment take place for 3rd day near presidential residence

Seoul: Tens of thousands of people gathered near the Presidential residence on Sunday to rally for or against the detention of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a third consecutive day, with just a day left for investigators to execute a warrant to formally detain him.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), handling the probe on Yoon’s short-lived martial law imposition, has only until the end of Monday to execute the warrant, based on which it can either decide to file a court warrant for Yoon’s formal arrest or release him.

On Sunday, protesters calling for Yoon’s detention staged a rally near the presidential residence for a third day and vowed to extend the rally for another day.

Around 400 metres away, near Hangangjin subway station, Yoon’s supporters also held a rally calling for invalidating the motion to impeach Yoon and his immediate return to office.

No clashes occurred, with police installing fences and mobilising buses to keep the two groups of protesters apart.

On Friday, the CIO unsuccessfully attempted to execute the court warrant for Yoon’s detention, engaging in a standoff with the Presidential Security Service that ended after six hours as the CIO decided to withdraw its officials, citing safety concerns.

Investigators were reportedly expected to make another attempt on Monday to carry out the court warrants to detain the impeached president and search his residence.

The CIO was also reportedly considering refiling the detention warrant to extend its validity, or file a new warrant to pursue Yoon’s formal arrest, Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoon has not complied with the investigation, arguing the CIO lacks legal authority to investigate the case.

Earlier in the day, Yoon’s lawyer said that he would file a complaint with the prosecution this week seeking an investigation into the chief of South Korea’s anti-corruption agency handling Yoon’s martial law case and other police officers for attempting to execute a warrant to detain Yoon.

IANS