SEOUL: Yoon Suk Yeol became the first incumbent South Korean president to be arrested when he finally backed down on Wednesday (Jan 15) in a weeks-long standoff with authorities investigating him over alleged insurrection.
A tough political survivor who became increasingly isolated halfway through his five-year term, Yoon, 64, has been dogged by personal scandals, an unyielding opposition and rifts within his own party.
His legal peril stands in contrast to his storied career before politics as a top prosecutor, which launched him into the public eye and sparked much of the support that led to his victory in the 2022 presidential election, his first elected office.
Since narrowly winning that election, Yoon had become embittered by continual battles that have drawn out a recklessness that a former rival said is his defining trait.
By the time Yoon briefly imposed martial law on Dec 3 in a move that stunned South Koreans, he was badly bruised politically. He was suspended from his duties after being impeached by parliament on Dec 14 for his martial law attempt.
Yoon’s political fate is in the hands of the Constitutional Court as his legal perils mount.
He faces multiple criminal investigations for insurrection – the only charge that South Korean presidents are not immune from – including one led by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO).
Yoon had used his refusal to comply with what he called the CIO’s illegal arrest warrant to rally supporters in the face of snowballing legal and political troubles.
Isolated in his fortified residence in downtown Seoul, Yoon and his Presidential Security Service played a high-stakes game of chicken with authorities who tried to arrest him for two weeks before he finally agreed to appear for questioning.
In a message released as he was being arrested, Yoon said he was not acknowledging the illegal process but was submitting to avoid bloodshed.
Yoon had earlier vowed to “fight until the end” and called on followers to help him save the country from “anti-state forces”.
