South Korean court issues arrest warrant for impeached president

SEOUL: A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, investigators said on Tuesday, prompting hundreds of supporters to gather at the gates of his private residence.

Investigators probing Yoon over his December 3 declaration of martial law requested the warrant after he failed to report for questioning a third time.

Crowds gathered outside his home on Tuesday wielding placards and South Korean flags, chanting: “Martial law legal! Impeachment invalid!”

“The arrest warrant and search warrant... were issued this morning,” the Joint Investigation Headquarters managing the probe into Yoon said in a statement.

Yoon´s legal team described the arrest order as “illegal and invalid” and filed an injunction to nullify it.

It is the first time in the country´s history that a sitting president has been subject to an arrest warrant.

“I came out here because I was shocked and horrified that they´re trying to arrest the president,” said Song Mi-ja, a pro-Yoon protester.

“The martial law was not an insurrection, what they´re trying to do now is one,” she told AFP. Police were sent to the area in large numbers and could be seen shouting at demonstrators to keep in line, but a route in and out of Yoon´s residence remained clear.

Yoon has been stripped of his presidential duties by parliament and faces criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty.