South Koreans protest as Yoon arrest deadline nears

SEOUL

Thousands of South Koreans braved a snowstorm on Sunday to rally in support or opposition of President Yoon Suk Yeol, suspended over a failed martial law bid and resisting arrest a day before the warrant expires.

Yoon plunged the country into political chaos last month with the bungled martial law declaration and has since holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by hundreds of loyal security officers.

An attempt to arrest him by investigators on Jan. 3 failed when a tense six-hour standoff with his presidential security service ended over security fears, with his supporters also camped outside.

Thousands descended on his residence again yesterday despite bitter snow conditions blanketing the capital, with one camp demanding Yoon's arrest while the other called for his impeachment to be declared invalid.

The rallies in the cold come as Yoon this week said he was watching protests in support of his rule on a YouTube livestream, pledging to "fight" those trying to question his short-lived power grab.

Yoon faces criminal charges of insurrection, one of a few crimes not subject to presidential immunity, meaning he could be sentenced to prison or, at worst, the death penalty.

If the warrant is executed, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.

A prosecutors' report for his former defense minister seen by AFP yesterday showed Yoon ignored the objections of key cabinet ministers before his failed martial law bid.

It said the country's then prime minister, foreign minister and finance minister all expressed reservations about the potential economic and diplomatic fallout in a cabinet meeting on the night of the decision.