South Korean protesters brave cold to demand Yoon's ouster as detention deadline looms

SEOUL, South Korea — Hundreds of South Koreans, bundled up against freezing temperatures and snow, rallied overnight into Sunday near the residence of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for his ouster and arrest, as authorities prepared to renew their efforts to detain him over his short-lived martial law decree.

Dozens of anti-corruption agency investigators and police attempted to execute a detainment warrant against Yoon on Friday but retreated from his residence in Seoul after a tense standoff with the presidential security service that lasted more than five hours.

A deadline approaches

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials is weighing charges of rebellion after the conservative president, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by a legislature dominated by the liberal opposition, declared martial law on Dec. 3 and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly.

The Assembly overturned the declaration within hours in a unanimous vote and impeached Yoon on Dec. 14, accusing him of rebellion, while South Korean anti-corruption authorities and public prosecutors opened separate investigations into the events.

Last Tuesday, a Seoul court issued a warrant to detain Yoon and a separate warrant to search his residence after the embattled president defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning. But enforcing them is complicated as long as Yoon remains in his official residence.

The one-week warrant for his detention is valid through Monday. Staff from the presidential security service were seen installing barbed wire near the gate and hills leading up to Yoon's residence over the weekend, possibly in preparation for another detention attempt.

If the anti-corruption agency manages to detain Yoon, it will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, Yoon will be released after 48 hours.

As hundreds of anti-Yoon protesters rallied for hours near the gate of the presidential residence, pro-Yoon protesters gathered in nearby streets, vowing to protect him. Both groups were separated by police barricades and buses.

''With barely a day left before the execution deadline for Yoon Seok Yeol's detainment warrant, the presidential security service continues to hide a criminal and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials cannot be more relaxed,'' Kim Eun-jeong, an activist, said on a stage during the anti-Yoon rally.

Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, called on the anti-corruption agency to move quickly to detain Yoon, accusing the agency of ''hesitating and letting time slip away.''

The presidential security service blocks Yoon's detainment

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military investigators, has urged the country's acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to instruct the presidential security service to comply with their execution of the detainment warrant. Choi has yet to publicly comment on the issue.

Park Jong-joon, chief of the presidential security service, hit back against criticism that his organization has become Yoon's private army, saying it has legal obligations to protect the incumbent president. Park said he instructed his members not to use violence during Friday's standoff and called for the anti-corruption agency and police to change their approach.

Park and his deputy defied summonses on Saturday from police, who planned to question them over the suspected obstruction of official duty following Friday's events.

While the presidential security act mandates protection for Yoon, it does not authorize the service to block court-ordered detainments, which may amount to an obstruction of official duty, said Park Sung-bae, an attorney specializing in criminal law. While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, the protection does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason.

The agency said its outnumbered investigators had several scuffles with presidential security forces that threatened their safety.

After getting around a military unit guarding the residence's grounds, the agency's investigators and police were able to approach within 200 meters (about 218 yards) of Yoon's residential building but were stopped by a barricade formed with 10 vehicles and about 200 members of the presidential security forces and troops.

Kim Seon-ho, the acting defense minister, conveyed his concern to the presidential security service, saying that using military personnel to block the execution of the detention warrant would be ''inappropriate'' and that the troops shouldn't be placed in a position where they might confront police.

Yoon's defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the enforcement of martial law.

Yoon fights back

Yoon's legal team said it will file complaints against the anti-corruption agency's chief prosecutor, Oh Dong-woon, and approximately 150 investigators and police officers involved in Friday's detention attempt, which they claim was unlawful. The team said it will also file complaints with public prosecutors against the country's acting defense minister and police chief for ignoring the presidential security service's request to provide additional forces to block the detention attempt.

Yoon's lawyers have claimed that the detention and search warrants against Yoon cannot be enforced at his residence, citing a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge. They also argue the anti-corruption office lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges and that police officers don't have the legal authority to assist in detaining Yoon.

Yoon's fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.