South Korean Investigators Question Arrested President Yoon in Insurrection Probe

January 15, 2025 | 03:52 pm

TEMPO.CO, Seoul - Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested and questioned by authorities in relation to a criminal insurrection investigation on Wednesday, saying he was only cooperating with what he called an illegal probe to avoid violence.

His arrest, the first ever for an incumbent South Korean president, is the latest head-spinning development for one of Asia's most vibrant democracies even though the country has a history of prosecuting and imprisoning former leaders.

Since lawmakers voted to stand him down after his short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, Yoon has been holed up at his hillside residence, guarded by a small army of presidential security that blocked a previous arrest attempt.

He agreed to come in for questioning after more than 3,000 police officers determined to arrest him marched on his residence in the early hours of Wednesday.

"I decided to respond to the CIO's investigation - despite it being an illegal investigation - to prevent unsavory bloodshed," Yoon said in a statement, referring to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) that is heading the criminal probe.

A prosecutor accompanied Yoon in his car from his home in the upscale area known as  Seoul’s Beverly Hills to the austere CIO offices, where he slipped in through a back entrance, avoiding media.

Authorities now have 48 hours to question Yoon after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him.

However, Yoon is refusing to talk and has not agreed to have interviews with investigators recorded on video, a CIO official said. The CIO said it had no information on why Yoon was refusing to talk.

Yoon's lawyers have said the arrest warrant is illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal mandate to do so. A warrant to search Yoon at his residence, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, referred to Yoon as "ringleader of insurrection".

Presidential guards were stationed on the CIO floor where Yoon is being questioned, said a CIO official, but he will likely be held at Seoul Detention Center, where other high-profile figures including former President Park Geun-hye and Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee have also spent time.

On the menu tonight: a dinner of beansprout soup, barbeque beef and kimchi, costing around $1.

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