S. Korea's CIO to seek extension of warrant to arrest Yoon

SEOUL -- South Korea's anti-corruption investigative agency will seek the extension of a warrant to arrest the impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday after a botched attempt of Yoon's arrest last week, according to multiple media outlets.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) planned to request the extension of the warrant later in the day after entrusting the National Office of Investigation (NOI) with the task of executing the warrant on Sunday.

The CIO was quoted as saying that it will maintain the authority to investigate and entrust the NOI with the authority to execute the warrant while considering referring the case to the prosecution office at a certain stage.

The anti-corruption investigative unit and the police have investigated Yoon's martial law imposition jointly with the defense ministry's investigation headquarters.

The CIO investigators and police officers attempted to arrest the impeached president in the presidential residence on Jan. 3, but they failed as the presidential security service blocked the execution of the arrest warrant that was issued by a Seoul court. The warrant was scheduled to be valid for a week until Monday.

Analysts suggested that the CIO's decision to transfer the arrest responsibility stems from the Jan. 3 failure and expects significant resistance and little chance of success in a second attempt.

They said the CIO, as an anti-corruption agency, has long been criticized for its relative weakness and lack of tangible achievements, with some even labeling it "ineffective since its establishment."

The CIO has insisted on leading an "insurrection investigation" under the pretext of uncovering clues during an investigation of abuse of power, aiming to prove its relevance. However, Yoon's camp and the ruling party argue that the CIO does not have jurisdiction to investigate the president for such charges.

Meanwhile, the CIO obtained the arrest warrant from the Seoul Western District Court, which was criticized by opponents as bypassing the corresponding authority -- the Seoul Central District Court, calling it a "selective operation." The ruling People Power Party also criticized the CIO's execution of the arrest warrant as an "overreach and inappropriate action."

Park Jong-joon, chief of South Korea's presidential security service, on Sunday vowed to keep blocking the attempt to arrest Yoon.

If the security service, which puts its top priority on the president's absolute safety, complied with the execution of the arrest warrant against Yoon, it would have been a dereliction of duty and an abandonment of presidential security, Park said in a statement.

Park noted that he would accept any judicial responsibility for his possible errors in his decision to let security service agents confront a group of investigators who raided the presidential residence in central Seoul on Friday to proceed with the warrant to detain Yoon.

The impeachment motion against Yoon was passed in the National Assembly on Dec. 14, 2024, and was delivered to the constitutional court to deliberate it for up to 180 days, during which Yoon's presidential power is suspended.

Yoon, who was named by investigative agencies as a suspected ringleader on an insurrection charge, declared martial law on the night of Dec. 3, but it was revoked by the National Assembly hours later.