For the first time in constitutional history, an arrest warrant is being executed against a sitting president. There have been previous cases of former presidents such as Park Geun-hye being detained, but those instances occurred after they were removed from office and were no longer in the position. With the unprecedented execution of an arrest warrant against a sitting president, the level of tension both inside and outside the political sphere is rising.

On the 3rd, when the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency attempted to execute an arrest warrant for President Yoon Sukyeol, the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul was shrouded in silence. On that day, the agency presented the arrest warrant to the head of security in front of the residence building and requested cooperation for the arrest of President Yoon Sukyeol, but the search was denied. Photo by Jo Yongjun

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On the 3rd, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) began executing an arrest warrant against President Yoon Suk-yeol. This is an unprecedented incident in which the president, who is constitutionally both the 'head of state' and 'head of the executive branch,' has become the target of arrest by an investigative agency. On this day, CIO prosecutors and investigators entered the presidential residence to execute the arrest warrant for President Yoon, but have been in a standoff for over two hours due to resistance from the Presidential Security Service and military units under its command.

Although President Yoon's duties have been suspended following his impeachment by the National Assembly, the arrest warrant was executed against the sitting president due to the gravity of the 'rebellion incident' involving the declaration of martial law on the 3rd of last month. Previously, on the night of the 3rd of last month, President Yoon declared martial law and deployed martial law troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission. According to prosecutors, President Yoon appeared to have attempted to establish a separate emergency legislative body after neutralizing the National Assembly. In addition, it is known that President Yoon also attempted to occupy the National Election Commission, among others, on suspicions of election fraud in the general election. The CIO and prosecutors have determined this martial law incident to be an 'insurrection' and are conducting an investigation.

Initially, some speculated that if the arrest warrant were executed, President Yoon might voluntarily appear outside the residence. However, during the execution of the arrest warrant, staff from the Presidential Security Service attempted physical resistance. As a result, there was a confrontation between the CIO and police, who were trying to arrest President Yoon, and the Security Service, who were resisting.

The occurrence of an attempted arrest of a sitting president was due to conflicting perspectives in the political and legal communities. One side questioned whether it was appropriate to arrest a sitting president whose duties had already been suspended. However, the other side expressed concern that, despite his suspension, President Yoon could use his status as a sitting president and the protection of the Security Service to resist the investigation, attempt to shift the situation through statements by his legal counsel, or even destroy evidence.

Moreover, there is an aspect that President Yoon brought this arrest warrant upon himself. The CIO had requested his appearance three times, but President Yoon refused to comply. Furthermore, on the 1st, President Yoon addressed far-right supporters gathered near the residence to block the execution of the arrest warrant, saying, "The Republic of Korea is in danger due to forces undermining our sovereignty both at home and abroad," and "I will fight to the end with you to defend this country," further fueling the conflict.

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The opposition has consistently raised the need to arrest President Yoon. There is a perception that, ultimately, President Yoon's arrest and detention are necessary to resolve the ongoing chaos. The opposition has argued that the continued instability and confusion, even after the lifting of martial law and the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon in the National Assembly, stem from the fact that President Yoon, accused of being the ringleader of the insurrection, is holding out in the presidential residence as a fortress. Furthermore, concerns have grown as President Yoon has continued to assert his political presence to supporters through social networking services (SNS) following incidents such as last month's aviation disaster.

However, there has been controversy over whether the CIO has the authority to investigate insurrection and over the procedures involved in issuing the arrest warrant.

The political sphere is also divided over the arrest warrant. The People Power Party raised procedural issues regarding President Yoon's arrest warrant. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at a party strategy meeting at the National Assembly, "The CIO, despite not having the authority to investigate insurrection, has abused its power to conduct such an investigation and even requested an arrest warrant," criticizing, "It's like trying to drive an excavator with a type-2 motorbike license." He continued to argue that the arrest warrant was illegal. Kweon said, "Normally, the CIO has requested warrants from the Central District Court, but this time, they applied to the Western District Court," adding, "We have nothing to say if people accuse us of judge shopping for a biased decision." Regarding the inclusion of a clause in the search warrant that "exempts the application of Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act," he said, "This is a case where a judge arbitrarily deleted the provision requiring institutional permission to search military or official secret locations." However, when meeting with reporters after the meeting, he refrained from commenting on how the party would respond after the arrest, saying, "I will speak about that later."

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On the other hand, Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, warned, "Anyone who obstructs the execution of the arrest warrant will be punished for obstruction of special official duties and as an accomplice to insurrection," adding, "I warn the head and deputy head of the Security Service and the Capital Defense Command not to misjudge the situation and to cooperate with the execution of the arrest warrant for the ringleader of the insurrection." Park also criticized, "It is a bizarre situation where the ringleader of the insurrection has been watching far-right YouTube and inciting far-right forces from the residence for a month." Noh Jong-myun, Democratic Party spokesperson, said, "Obstructing the execution of the warrant by mobilizing military forces is clearly a second insurrection," urging, "Choi Sang-mok, acting president and deputy prime minister for economic affairs and minister of economy and finance, should take responsibility and resolve this situation quickly."