WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC
Yoon becomes first sitting president in S.Korea's modern history to be arrested; political chaos may lead to greater instability, says expert
Published: Jan 15, 2025 09:44 AM
South Korean policemen are seen on guard near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)

South Korean policemen are seen on guard near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was arrested in presidential residence Wednesday, becoming the country's first sitting president to be kept in custody over his short-lived martial law imposition, media reported. 

A joint investigation unit, composed of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the National Office of Investigation (NOI), and the defense ministry's investigative headquarters, said in a short notice that Yoon was arrested at 10:33 am local time, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

TV footage showed vehicles carrying arrested Yoon moved out of the residence in central Seoul for questioning at the CIO office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, before being detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just 5 kilometers away from the office.

The CIO will be required to decide within 48 hours whether to seek a separate warrant to detain Yoon for up to 20 days for further questioning or release him.

Yoon became the first incumbent president to be arrested in the country's modern history, Xinhua reported. 

According to Yonhap News, Yoon said Wednesday he decided to appear before an anti-corruption agency's questioning to avoid risks of bloodshed, while claiming the agency's probe is "illegal." 

Yoon issued the statement before heading to the headquarters of the CIO in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, as the CIO and the police executed a warrant to detain the besieged president over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

"To prevent an unfortunate and violent incident, I decided to appear before the CIO even though I believe the investigation is illegal," Yoon said in a video message recorded at his residence in Yongsan, central Seoul.

South Korea's opposition Democratic Party said Wednesday that the arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was the beginning of restoring order to the country after weeks of political turmoil. "The arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol is the first step toward restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law. Although overdue, it is truly fortunate to confirm that public authority and justice in South Korea are still alive," floor leader Park Chan-dae told the party in a meeting, Yonhap reported.

Wednesday’s raid marked several changes from their first attempt that took place on January 3, in which some 150 investigators and police had to turn back after an over five hour-long standoff with approximately 200 presidential bodyguards and military personnel forming a human barricade to block their entry, said the Korea Herald.

The second attempt to arrest the president, led by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, faced virtually no resistance from the Presidential Security Service, according to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials leading the joint probe, said the Korea Herald.

The CIO and police had made sufficient preparations for the second arrest operation, which left Yoon with no way out. However, Yoon will probably deny all the accusations against him, thus the future judicial investigation into him will face significant uncertainty, Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Xiang said Yoon’s arrest will also further intensify the conflicts between different political forces in South Korea. This round of political turmoil in the country could lead to new developments, potentially triggering a new wave of greater instability in the political landscape.

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party may also seek to maintain Yoon’s position by protecting the president, trying to delay judicial investigations into Yoon as much as possible, and postponing the timeline for his stepping down to avoid holding a new presidential election in South Korea too soon, said Xiang. 

As the CIO and police executed a second arrest warrant for Yoon on Wednesday morning, tensions peaked outside the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul, where pro-Yoon and anti-Yoon protesters gathered in significant numbers, according to the Chosun Daily.

Approximately 8,700 pro-Yoon demonstrators, according to police estimates, rallied near Lutheran Church and Hannam Elementary School. Chanting slogans such as “We will fight alongside the president” and “Arrest Lee Jae-myung,” the crowd included individuals clashing with police attempting to manage the protests, the Chosun Daily reported. 

“This is a historic moment,” one anti-Yoon protester said. “Once Yoon is arrested, we’ll never have to deal with him again.” Others shouted phrases like, “Send him straight to jail!” Enthusiasm surged as reports indicated that all three security cordons established by the Presidential Security Service had been breached. 

In the future, the opposition parties are likely to engage in disputes with the ruling party over topics such as the impeachment trial of Yoon and the scandal involving his wife, Kim Keon-hee. These disputes may also provoke a sense of division among the public, further creating a rift between conservative and progressive citizens, said Xiang.