South Korean protesters rally for, against Yoon's arrest as warrant nears expiration

Thousands braved heavy snow in Seoul on Sunday to rally for and against arresting impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, as South Korea's political crisis appeared headed toward another high-stakes confrontation.

With an arrest warrant against Yoon for alleged insurrection expiring at midnight on Monday, multiple groups held demonstrations near his official residence, some urging his immediate arrest while others protested against it.

Yoon became the country's first sitting president to face arrest over his botched attempt to declare martial law on December 3, which triggered political chaos engulfing Asia's fourth-largest economy and a key U.S. ally.

The conservative president was impeached by parliament and is suspended from official duties while the Constitutional Court decides whether to reinstate or remove him. On Friday, criminal investigators were blocked from arresting him by Yoon's presidential security service and military troops in a six-hour standoff.

The Seoul Western District Court on Sunday rejected a complaint from Yoon's legal team that the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid, Yonhap news agency reported. Calls to the court seeking comment went unanswered.

Yoon's lawyers have said the warrant was unconstitutional because the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), which leads his criminal investigation, has no authority under South Korean law to investigate any case involving insurrection allegations.

As a former prosecutor, Yoon and his lawyers would very much like to capitalize on whatever loopholes in South Korea's legal system to block the arrest, but as reported by local media, it wasn't just the CIO investigating the case, Rong Ying, a chair professor at Sichuan University and a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told CGTN.

It was a joint operation involving both the military and the police, so the argument that the CIO doesn't have the authority is not legally sound, Rong added.

'A big problem'

The lawyers said in a statement on Sunday that they would report CIO chief Oh Dong-woon and the investigation team to prosecutors for what they called illegally executing the warrant, including by mobilizing police when the anti-graft body has no authority to do so.

The CIO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Judging the legitimacy of any legal interpretation and execution is difficult," Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon, said on Facebook. "If there is an error in the legality of law enforcement against the incumbent president, it will be a big problem."

Some of Sunday's protesters had gathered overnight in downtown Seoul, where temperatures fell below minus 5 degrees Celsius. More than 6 centimeters of snow has piled up in parts of the capital, which was under a heavy snow warning.

"We have to reestablish the foundation of our society by punishing the president who has denied the constitution," said Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major labor group that participated in the protests.

"We must bring down the criminal Yoon Suk-yeol and arrest and detain him as soon as possible."

Nearby, Yoon supporters held placards reading, "We will fight for President Yoon Suk-yeol" and "Stop the Steal," a phrase popularized by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's supporters after he lost the 2020 election.

Similar rallies drew tens of thousands on Saturday, prompting police to try to disperse KCTU protesters occupying roads and disrupting traffic. Two were detained, accused of assaulting police officers, Yonhap reported.

On Saturday, the CIO again asked acting President Choi Sang-mok, the finance minister, to order the security service to comply with the arrest warrant.

A finance ministry spokesperson declined to comment.

(With input from Reuters)