South Korean law enforcement officials arrested impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday, executing a warrant Yoon and his attorneys condemned as illegal.
Yoon is facing criminal charges of insurrection and abuse of power – crimes exempt from executive immunity – as a result of his failed attempt to impose martial law on the country in early December. Yoon, a conservative, claimed in a national address that imposing military rule was necessary to stop legislative obstructionism by the leftist Democratic Party in the National Assembly.
The disastrous martial law declaration lasted mere hours after National Assembly lawmakers stormed the legislative chambers to vote against it, barreling through heavily armed soldiers deployed to stop them from convening. Political activities are illegal under martial law.
The Democrats, who hold the majority in the National Assembly, impeached Yoon and then impeached his temporary replacement, interim President Han Duck-soo. The second impeachment appeared to galvanize conservatives who had otherwise hesitated to support Yoon, prompting thousands to protest in freezing temperatures demanding an end to the impeachment.
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