South Korea's Yoon will accept court decision even if presidency ends
2 Min Read
South Korea's suspended president, following multiple attempts of arrest, has decided to adhere to the court's decision even if it ends his tenure.
-
A caricature depicting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is seen near the ruling People Power Party's head office in Seoul, South Korea, on December 9, 2024. The letters read "Arrest." (AP)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will respect the Constitutional Court's decision regarding parliament's impeachment case against him, even if it results in his removal from office, his lawyer stated on Thursday.
As decisions by the Constitutional Court, one of South Korea's two highest courts alongside the Supreme Court, are final and cannot be appealed, Yoon's lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, admitted "So if the decision is 'removal', it cannot but be accepted."
Yoon previously disregarded the Constitutional Court's requests to submit legal briefs before hearings commenced on December 27. However, his lawyers have indicated that he is willing to appear in person to present his case.
The suspended president has also ignored multiple summonses in a separate criminal investigation involving accusations that he orchestrated an insurrection through his December 3 martial law attempt, which resulted in the issuance of the first arrest warrant for a sitting president.
Last week, presidential security guards successfully resisted an initial attempt to arrest Yoon. However, another arrest effort is expected after a lead investigator vowed to overcome the security blockade and detain him.
Yoon poised to avoid arrest as warrant deadline approaches
Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached after a failed martial law decree last month, has refused to appear for questioning three times and remains at his residence, guarded by hundreds of security personnel preventing his arrest.
Meanwhile, Seok Dong-hyeon, another lawyer representing Yoon, claimed that the arrest attempts were politically motivated and intended to humiliate the president by parading him in handcuffs. He also referenced media reports suggesting that the police plan to use armored vehicles and helicopters to deploy special police units into the presidential compound to facilitate Yoon's arrest.
Seok stated that Yoon and his advisers view the current situation as an ideological battle between defenders of free democracy and those opposing it.
"We're saying that if things go wrong, it could escalate into civil war," Seok warned.
Yoon has defended his decision to declare martial law, claiming it was necessary to remove "anti-state" forces that were disrupting government functions and endangering democracy.
