SEOUL: South Korean anti-corruption agency has asked the police to take over the execution of a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, both sides said Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) made the request in an official letter late Sunday with one day left until the warrant’s expiry.
“The CIO sent us an official letter requesting our cooperation without prior consultations,“ a police official told Yonhap News Agency. “We are internally carrying out a legal review.”
The CIO halted its execution of the warrant last Friday after an hour-long standoff with presidential security staff at the residence.
The agency has been working with the police and the Defence Ministry’s investigation unit to conduct a joint probe into Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec 3.
With the warrant set to expire at midnight, the CIO had been expected to make a second attempt at detaining Yoon or request its extension, among other options.
Sources said the CIO’s letter was prompting complaints within the police that the agency was trying to shift its responsibilities after passively executing the warrant last Friday.
Yoon’s legal team has rejected the warrant as illegal and invalid, noting the CIO is not technically authorised to investigate charges of insurrection that Yoon faces over his martial law decree.
