By Jacinto Caballero-George
Ex-president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, was recently impeached on December 14th, 2024, for abusing his power. He was vetoing practically all of the bills the opposing side passed, many of his critics calling him authoritarian. When he was backed against a wall after a failed attempt of imposing martial law, he went nuclear. This caused a political crisis which led to Yoon getting impeached.
Yoon has been trying to avoid his arrest since his impeachment. His lawyer said he will not undergo the warranted arrest because it was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. His arrest is much harder to maintain as the warrants expiration date slowly creeps closer. The Presidential Security Service (PSS) has been blocking Yoons arrest, agreeing with his lawyer that his warrant is “illegal” considering that it was filed incorrectly.
This situation has caused many protests. Some are protesting for the arrest of ex-president Yoon while others are in full support. Both of these groups are very passionate about their stance in this situation, making it much harder than it should be to arrest ex-president Yoon.
Many Koreans have been peacefully protesting for his arrest, even in the cold snow of winter. These people have been trying to get his arrest finalized, though they have not been met with results yet. Many anti-corruption agencies have also been trying to execute his arrest and end his position as president. However the PSS has been blocking his arrest, saying the PSS still has the right to protect him because he has not accepted his impeachment.
Yoon’s supporters have also been protesting for him to be put back in office. They believe that his impeachment was unjust, meaning he should still be in office. These people have also been a large barricade in the attempt to arrest him. Their gathering at the office adds to the difficulty of arresting the ex-president.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, the acting president of South Korea, said, “There should be no violence…Please come up with an independent counsel law that is not unconstitutional.” This indicates that he does not want to use violence in arresting ex-president Yoon, which is a very smart political stance for Sang-mok to make. This shows that he does not believe in hurting people just to arrest one man—a very moral decision. However, that could make his arrest that much harder.
Ex-president Yoon’s warranted arrest has torn the country in half. South Korea’s government is having a very hard time getting this situation under control, worsening the situation. Between Yoon’s lawyer claiming his arrest warrant is illegal, Yoon’s evasion of his arrest, people protesting to speed up his arrest, and people blocking his arrest by protesting for him to be put back in office holding “Stop The Steal” signs, this has been a very hard time for both the South Korean government and people.
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