In a prerecorded video message released shortly after his arrest Wednesday, suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol claimed again that the investigation of him was illegal, and that he was only complying with it to "prevent disgraceful bloodshed."
Yoon was taken into custody at the presidential residence by investigators of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, in a second attempt to execute a court-issued warrant for his arrest this month related to his Dec. 3 botched imposition of martial law.
His lawyers told reporters they were negotiating to have him "voluntarily" appear for questioning, but the CIO announced that the warrant was executed on 10:33 a.m.
"After seeing them (investigators) using firefighting equipment to invade a secure area today, I've decided to accept the CIO's investigation -- even though it is illegal -- to prevent disgraceful bloodshed. But I do not accept investigation by the CIO," he said in a prerecorded video sent out by the presidential office.
"It is lamentable to see an investigative body issue a fake public document to deceive the public and forcibly execute a legally-invalid warrant, to see a warrant issued to an agency with no investigative rights, and to see a court that does not have rights to deliberate a warrant issue arrest and search warrants," he said.
The CIO, an independent investigative body that specializes on probing high-ranking government and judicial officials, was authorized to arrest Yoon last month by the warrant issued by the Seoul Western District Court on Dec. 31. The joint investigative team attempted to carry out the warrant and arrest the president on Jan. 3, but was blocked in an over five hour-long standoff with approximately 200 presidential bodyguards and military personnel forming a human barricade.
The PSS had set up multiple buses and razor wire to block investigators from arresting Yoon in the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, but its officials offered virtually no other resistance in Wednesday's second raid, according to the CIO.
Yoon declared emergency martial law on Dec. 3 and is alleged to have given illegal orders to his military commanders during the state of martial law, which lasted just over six hours before Yoon rescinded after the parliament voted to nullify his decree. The martial law command had mobilized the military to block off the National Assembly, raid the National Election Commission and arrest a list of prominent political figures and outspoken critics, allegedly under Yoon’s orders.
The suspended president is under criminal investigation and on trial to confirm his impeachment, passed in the National Assembly Dec. 15, for leading an insurrection and committing abuse of power.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
