Police fences are erected near the president's residence in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Thursday. (Yonhap)
Police fences are erected near the president's residence in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Thursday. (Yonhap)

As a joint investigative team led by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials moved to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol, tensions flared Tuesday between his supporters, his detractors, police and the Presidential Security Service outside his residence on Thursday.

With Yoon's written message delivered to demonstrators earlier in the day via a live broadcast on YouTube stating he is watching their efforts to support him, the pro-Yoon rally grew stronger. Some people lied on the road in front of the main gate of the president's residence, breaking the police line. After issuing five dispersal orders, police officers began forcibly removing supporters one by one, grabbing the arms and legs of the supporters, who chanted Yoon's name.

The rally was held two days after the Seoul Western District Court issued an arrest warrant that would allow for Yoon's detention for up to 48 hours on Tuesday. The CIO-led investigative team reiterated that it would execute the warrant before its Monday expiration.

The CIO -- part of the joint investigation along with the Korean National Police Agency’s National Office of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation Command of the Defense Ministry -- said it is still discussing the appropriate timing and how to exercise the warrant.

“The exact date is yet to be announced, but we will take actions before the court-issued arrest warrant expires,” the CIO official told The Korea Herald on Thursday.

When police made search and seizure attempts at the president’s residence in the past week, the Presidential Security Service blocked the investigators, reiterating the Criminal Procedure Act that states such measures “shall not be conducted at a place in respect of which military information shall be kept confidential, unless approval from the person in charge is obtained.”

But the latest warrant dictates an exception to Articles 110 and 111 -- which cover military and public secrets, respectively, as relates to a seizure -- of the Criminal Procedure Act, allowing investigators to push ahead.

Oh Dong-woon, head of the CIO, said Wednesday that the investigators will execute the arrest warrant in accordance with the principles and have asked the Presidential Security Service to cooperate with the imminent arrest.

The CIO chief also stated any action to deny the arrest order, including closing the door of the presidential residence, locking the gates or setting up a barricade, could be considered obstruction of official duties.

Speculation has arisen of a possible collision within police forces, as the riot police squad seeking to enforce the warrant may encounter the Seoul Metropolitan Police 101 Security Team and 202 Security Team -- units tasked with guarding the president’s residence alongside the Presidential Security Service.

But, police have said the two security teams are not legally under the direct command of the Presidential Security Service, adding there is only a low possibility of confrontation between the police forces, according to a local news report.

Pro-Yoon protestors lie on the road nearby the presidential residence with signs reading
Pro-Yoon protestors lie on the road nearby the presidential residence with signs reading "Legal Martial Law, Invalid Impeachment" in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Thursday. (Yonhap)

If Yoon is taken into custody, investigators will take him to the CIO’s headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, for questioning, and detain the president at the Seoul Detention Center in nearby Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. Investigators have authority to detain the president for up to 48 hours, but could hold him up to 20 days longer if they seek another warrant citing concerns of him fleeing, destroying evidence or committing additional offenses.

Meanwhile, Yoon’s legal team announced Wednesday that it plans to file a competence dispute against the judge who invoked exceptions to Articles 110 and 111 in the latest warrant, arguing that the Criminal Procedure Act does not grant the judge the authority to disregard these provisions.

“This decision is not legally valid. It is a serious matter that violates the law. The court needs to conduct a thorough investigation and the judge, who is found responsible, should be suspended from his duty and be punished,” Yun Gap-geun, one of Yoon’s legal representatives, told reporters.

The court approved a request from the CIO to arrest Yoon over his alleged abuse of power and insurrection on Tuesday after the president ignored three successive summonses, on Dec. 18, 25 and 29.

Yoon became the first sitting president to face arrest in South Korea’s constitutional history.