A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law in a historic first.
Seoul Western District Court on Tuesday approved the warrant following an earlier request by the Joint Investigation Headquarters, which is investigating the embattled South Korean leader for insurrection and abuse of power.
“The arrest warrant and search warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, requested by the Joint Investigation Headquarters, were issued this morning,” the Joint Investigation Headquarters said in a statement.
The move marks the first time authorities have sought to detain a sitting South Korean president.
It is unclear when authorities might attempt to take Yoon into custody.
Yoon’s security detail has previously blocked investigators from executing a number of search warrants at the presidential office compound and the president’s official residence.
Yun Gap-geun, a lawyer for Yoon, said in a statement that the warrant is “illegal and invalid”, arguing that the CIO does not have authority to investigate the president.
Yoon’s lawyers CIO does not hold the authority to investigate insurrection charges. He also claimed that the agency is not a viable authority to file an arrest warrant request.
Yoon has been suspended from his duties since December 14, when the National Assembly voted for his impeachment in a 204-85 vote.
The conservative leader faces possible life imprisonment or the death penalty over his brief imposition of martial law on December 3, which has plunged the East Asian nation into its biggest political crisis in decades.
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