Yoon vows to 'fight until the end'

A court approved a warrant for Yoon's arrest, which would make him the first sitting president to be detained

FE Team | Published: January 02, 2025 21:47:17

SEOUL, Jan 02 (Reuters/AFP): South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has sent a letter rallying his supporters saying he would "fight until the end" as he faces an attempt by authorities to arrest him over his short-lived Dec 3 martial law, a lawyer said on Thursday.
"I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing," Yoon wrote in the letter late on Wednesday to the estimated hundreds of supporters who have gathered near his official residence protesting his investigation.
"I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you," he said in the letter, a photo capture of which was sent to Reuters by Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon.
The opposition Democratic Party, which has majority control of parliament and led the impeachment of Yoon on Dec 14, said the letter proved Yoon was delusional and remains committed to complete his "insurrection"
"As if trying to stage insurrection wasn't enough, he is now inciting his supporters to an extreme clash," party spokesman Jo Seoung-lae said in a statement.
A court on Tuesday approved a warrant for Yoon's arrest, which potentially would make him the first sitting president to be detained as part of investigations over allegations he masterminded insurrection by trying to impose martial law.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is leading a joint team of investigators that include the police and prosecutors, has until Jan 6 to execute the arrest warrant.
It was unclear when and how it will make the arrest and whether the presidential security service, which has blocked access by investigators with a search warrant to Yoon's office and official residence, would try to stop the arrest attempt.
Rival camps face off as
president holds out
Rival camps of South Korean protesters faced off in chaotic scenes outside the presidential compound Thursday, some trying to protect the impeached president inside from arrest, as others called for his immediate detention.
President Yoon Suk Yeol was last month impeached by lawmakers over his ill-fated martial law declaration and investigators probing him over insurrection have a warrant to detain him which they have vowed to execute before Monday.
But hundreds of Yoon's die-hard supporters, including far-right YouTube personalities and evangelical Christian leaders, gathered outside his compound in Seoul, facing off with the anti-Yoon camp and riot police.
One woman threw herself in front of a police bus, spreading her arms across the windshield, while other Yoon supporters lay down in the street-eyes closed, arms crossed in front of them-when police attempted to move them.
One protester, Park Shi-dong, 74, told AFP he was there to "fight to the death to save liberal democracy," saying Yoon's imposition of martial law was justified and he should not be removed from office.