It may not be an easy task to accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing, but in South Korea it may be more difficult due to the large number of law enforcement agencies.
President Yoon Sul Yeol has already joined the ranks of South Korean presidents who have been impeached by parliament as a result of his failed decision to declare martial law in early December. But as the court considers whether to uphold the impeachment and permanently remove him from power, he is also facing criminal investigations into the rebellion from multiple fronts.
This is the first time South Korean officials have tried to arrest a sitting president. (Mr. Yoon has been suspended and holed up at his residence, but he is still technically on the job.) Investigators are negotiating on untrodden ground, and the investigating agencies risk prolonging the country's political turmoil if they don't find a way. to cooperate.
And then there's the agency charged with protecting it.
Here's a guide to the playing field.
Experts say that the decision of the Constitutional Court may be in February. The court is facing huge public pressure to make a quick decision to help resolve the country's current political turmoil.
Any outcome of the trial will not affect Mr. Yoon's standing in the criminal proceedings, and the trial may proceed with or without his presence. But some speculate that Mr. Yoon's lawyers hope that if the court reinstates him, it will make it harder for investigators to charge him.
The Corruption Investigation Bureau launched a long-awaited second operation to arrest Mr. Yoon on Wednesday, two days after asking members of the security service not to intervene. In complying with the demand, the office alternately threatened their government pensions and promised they would face no consequences if they followed the “illegal orders” of their superiors, including the South Korean president.
Photo Chang W. Lee/The New York Times