South Korea's Yoon puts up ‘strong resistance', second arrest bid fails
South Korean president
Yoon Suk-yeol ended in failure on Thursday morning, after he refused to cooperate with authorities at the Seoul Detention Centre, forcing them to call off the operation once again.
The special counsel team investigating allegations involving Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, arrived at the facility at around 8.25am to enforce an arrest warrant issued last month. However, after encountering what officials described as 'strong resistance', they suspended the process around an hour later, citing a possible risk of injury.
'The warrant was executed with physical measures,' the team said. 'But due to the suspect's refusal and concern for injury, we halted the attempt at 9.40am.'
This marked the second failed arrest attempt in less than a week. During the first, on Friday, Yoon
reportedly lay on the floor in his underwear to prevent officers from taking him into custody – a spectacle that drew widespread attention. His lawyer claimed that he was merely changing clothes at the time.
A vehicle carrying the special counsel team drives out of the gate of Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang after their second failed attempt to arrest jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo: EPA/Yonhap
With the arrest warrant set to expire on Thursday, prosecutors had faced mounting pressure to act swiftly. Yoon has been in custody since July 10 on separate charges related to his declaration of martial law late last year.
The special counsel also suspects that he received illegal campaign help – namely, free opinion polling – from a political broker, Myung Tae-kyun, in exchange for helping a former member of the People Power Party secure a nomination.
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