SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea's anti-corruption agency said on Monday it had asked police to consider executing an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol. The request comes after a failed attempt to execute an arrest warrant on Friday following a standoff with presidential guards who formed a cordon to prevent access by investigators.
A team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) and the police are investigating allegations that Yoon was a mastermind behind his temporary imposition of martial law.
The CIO sent a notice to the police to request its seizure, the anti-corruption agency said in a statement to reporters.
The move comes amid frustration among Yoon's critics at the CIO for failing so far to implement the arrest warrant, which will expire at midnight on Monday (1500 GMT).
A police official told Yonhap news agency that they were “checking the law internally” after a request from the CIO.
Yoon's lawyers say the anti-graft force leading his criminal investigation has no authority under South Korean law to investigate any case involving allegations of rebellion.
The Seoul Western District Court on Sunday dismissed a ruling filed by Yoon's legal team seeking to quash warrants to arrest the president and search his official residence, according to Yonhap.
Amidst ongoing political tensions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting South Korea this week where he is expected to meet with senior government officials to ensure unity with Seoul, according to the US Department of Defense.
His visit comes after Yoon declared a brief period of martial law last month that sent South Korea into political turmoil, prompting a rare rebuke from officials in Washington.
The CIO is an independent agency established in January 2021 to investigate senior officials including the president and their family members, but does not have the power to prosecute the president.
Instead the law requires that the case be transferred to the prosecutor's office to take any action including prosecution once the questioning is complete.