Accusing a sitting president of wrongdoing is no simple task, but in South Korea it can be even more difficult due to the large number of law enforcement agencies involved.
President Yoon Sul Yeol has already joined the ranks of South Korean presidents impeached by Parliament as a result of his ill-fated decision to declare martial law in early December. But as a court weighs whether to uphold that impeachment and permanently remove him from power, he also faces multi-pronged criminal investigations over insurrection charges.
Mr. Yoon was arrested at his official residence by investigators and police on Wednesday, ending a tense standoff. He is the first sitting president in South Korean history to be questioned on criminal charges. (Mr. Yoon has been suspended, but is technically still in office.) Investigators are negotiating uncharted territory, and the agencies probing him risk prolonging the country’s political unrest if they do not find a way to cooperate.
And then there is the agency that is obligated to protect him.
Here is a guide to the playground.
Experts estimate that the Constitutional Court’s decision could be delivered as early as February. The court faces enormous public pressure to move quickly to help resolve the country’s current political vacuum.
None of the court’s decisions will affect Mr. Yoon’s standing in any criminal proceedings, and the court can proceed with or without his presence. But some believe Mr. Yoon’s lawyers hope that if the court reinstates him, it will be more difficult for investigators to charge him.
Mr Yoon will now be questioned by investigators on whether he committed insurrection when he ordered troops into Parliament during martial law. Officials are allowed to question him for 48 hours and must seek a separate court warrant if they want to formally arrest him.
A motorcade, apparently carrying Mr. Yoon, left his official residence on January 15 after investigators and police arrived to arrest him.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
