Detainment of S. Korean president: Calm discussions needed to resolve crisis

Editorial

15:13 JST, January 16, 2025

South Korea has a repeated history of presidents being arrested after leaving office, but this is the first time a sitting president has been taken into custody. The impact on the nation and abroad is immeasurable.

A joint investigation team — including the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the police — which is investigating President Yoon Suk Yeol on such charges as insurrection in connection with his declaration of martial law, executed a detainment warrant for the president.

Investigative authorities attempted to detain Yoon on Jan. 3, but they were blocked by personnel of the Presidential Security Service, which guards the presidential residence in Seoul. This time, Yoon offered to turn himself in, but the authorities refused it and decided to take him into custody.

Yoon issued a statement to the public, saying: “I’ve decided to accept the CIO’s investigation — even though it is illegal — to prevent disgraceful bloodshed. But I do not accept investigation by the CIO.”

The standoff between state agencies — the Presidential Security Service and the investigative authorities — was seen as reflecting the deep-seated political conflict between the ruling and opposition parties. It was fortunate that a serious clash was averted at the last minute.

If Yoon is indicted, his criminal trial on a charge of insurrection and his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court will proceed in parallel, an unusual development. If his impeachment is finalized, Yoon will lose his post and a presidential election will be held within 60 days.

Yoon is expected to assert his legitimacy during his interrogation and in court, claiming that the declaration of martial law was an “act of governance.”

In December last year, Yoon abruptly declared martial law alleging among other things that opposition parties had paralyzed national politics, and he dispatched troops to the National Assembly building and elsewhere. Although South Korea’s Constitution gives the president the authority to declare martial law, this was undoubtedly the factor that directly precipitated the chaos.

Meanwhile, the largest left-leaning opposition party and investigative authorities claim that Yoon’s declaration constituted the crime of insurrection.

The crime of insurrection applies when a person stages an insurrection for the purpose of disturbing the constitutional order. It is a serious offense that carries the death penalty, life imprisonment or life imprisonment without prison labor if the person is found to be the ringleader.

The arguments by Yoon’s side have been totally different from those of the opposition parties and the investigative authorities. The opposition, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, has been on the offensive, calling for the impeachment of even the prime minister who had served as acting president, but the party’s approval ratings have ended up plummeting.

The public may also have a growing a sense of disgust toward the opposition, which has exacerbated the turmoil. North Korea has stepped up its provocations already this year, such as by launching ballistic missiles twice.

It is time for both the ruling and opposition parties to try to resolve the situation through calm discussions in accordance with judicial procedures.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 16, 2025)