Seoul, Dec 31 A lawyer for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday protested against a detention warrant for the impeached president over his botched martial law imposition, calling the warrant "illegal."
A Seoul court on Tuesday approved a request from law enforcement authorities to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief martial law imposition, making him the first sitting South Korean President to face an arrest.
The Seoul Western District Court issued the warrant against Yoon on charges of masterminding the botched December 3 martial law declaration, orchestrating the insurrection and abusing power, according to sources.
Yun Gap-geun, one of Yoon's legal representatives, said the arrest and search warrants issued upon request by the CIO are "illegal and invalid" because the CIO has "no investigative rights" on charges of insurrection.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) filed the detention warrant after Yoon ignored all three summonses from the anti-corruption agency requesting his appearance for questioning over the short-lived martial law, Yonhap news agency reported.
The court warrant gives the CIO 48 hours to take Yoon into custody for questioning and file for an arrest warrant.
However, uncertainties linger over whether the CIO can execute the warrant, as the Presidential Security Service has blocked investigators from entering both the presidential office compound and Yoon's official residence to carry out court-approved searches, citing military security concerns.
Although Yoon has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, the privilege does not extend to insurrection or treason charges.
Yoon's defence team has argued the CIO lacks legal authority to investigate insurrection, a charge for which, in principle, police have investigative jurisdiction under the current system, amended during the previous government.
Oh Dong-woon, the CIO chief, has said that, unlike search warrants, a court-issued detention or arrest warrant cannot legally be obstructed, even by the President.
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