A Seoul court did just that South Korea has issued an arrest warrant for suspended South Korean President Yeon Suk-yeol over his attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
The arrest warrant comes after Yoon, who is facing multiple investigations on charges of rebellion and treason, ignored three subpoenas to appear for questioning over the past two weeks.
On Sunday night, investigators requested an arrest warrant for Yoon on charges of rebellion and abuse of authority, a move his lawyer described as “illegal.”
South Korea has been witnessing a political crisis since the declaration of martial law, which did not last long, as Parliament removed Yoon and his successor.
Yoon is the first South Korean president to face arrest.
The court order gives investigators 48 hours to arrest him for questioning.
However, it is not clear whether investigators will be able to execute the arrest warrant, as they may be thwarted by his security team and protesters.
The Presidential Security Service had earlier prevented investigators from entering the grounds of the presidential office and Yoon's private residence to conduct court-approved searches.
In the past, South Korean authorities have abandoned attempts to arrest prominent politicians after their aides and supporters physically blocked police.
Leon's legal team said Monday that investigators do not have the authority to arrest him because declaring martial law falls within the president's constitutional authority.
Yoon had previously defended his decision to declare martial law He pledged to “fight to the end” – Although he also said that he would not evade his legal and political responsibilities.
His lawyer, Yoon Jap Jeon, said Yoon's failure to comply with the previous three summonses was due to “legitimate concerns.”
Yoon's whereabouts are not publicly known, but he has been banned from leaving the country.
Although he has been suspended from his presidential duties since December 14 after lawmakers voted to impeach him, he can only be removed from office if the country's Constitutional Court upholds his impeachment.
There are currently only six judges on the nine-member Constitutional Court bench. This means that one rejection would save Yoon from elimination.
Opposition lawmakers had hoped the appointment of three additional judges would improve Yoon's impeachment prospects, but Prime Minister Han Dak-soo vetoed their proposal last week.
The opposition has since voted to remove Han, who took over as acting president after Yoon was suspended.
Now they are threatening to do the same to Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is currently acting president and acting prime minister.
Additional reporting by Kelly Ng
