Written by Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul faces a new and perhaps more forceful attempt to arrest him on sedition charges after a top investigator vowed to do whatever it takes to break the security siege and arrest the deposed leader.
Protesters for and against the embattled Liu continued to brave freezing temperatures to march in the streets surrounding the presidential complex on Wednesday after a court reissued a warrant for Yoon's arrest the day before.
The presidential security service was seen this week fortifying the compound with barbed wire and barricades using buses to block access to the hillside villa where Yoon is believed to be, after he defied subpoenas to appear for questioning.
Yoon is under criminal investigation for rebellion over his attempt to impose martial law on December 3, which took South Korea by surprise and led to the issuance of the first arrest warrant for a sitting president.
He is also involved in a separate trial before the Constitutional Court over his impeachment on December 14 on charges that he violated his constitutional duties by declaring martial law late at night.
Oh Dong-won, head of the Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau, which is leading the investigation against Yoon, apologized on Tuesday for a botched arrest attempt last Friday after a tense six-hour standoff inside the presidential complex.
Oh called off the arrest attempt after a human chain of hundreds of Preventive Security Service members and military guards prevented him from entering the presidential complex.
“We will do our best to achieve our goal through comprehensive preparation this time with great determination that the second execution order will be the last,” Oh told a parliamentary committee. It was not immediately clear how long the new arrest warrant would last.
Oh did not object when lawmakers called for tough measures to overpower the presidential guard and military forces inside the complex, but refused to confirm the options being considered.
Various scenarios reported by local media include the mobilization of special tactical police forces and heavy equipment to breach barricades, followed by more than 2,000 policemen to withdraw the presidential guard, taking up to three days if necessary to exhaust presidential security agents.
The previous arrest attempt outnumbered CIA directors and police by surrounding more than 200 Preventive Security Service personnel, some of whom were carrying firearms, as well as troops on loan to Presidential Security, as both sides engaged in scuffles, a DIG and police official said.
