Gongjobon Requests Arrest Warrant for 'Rebel Leader' Yoon Seok-yeol... First in Constitutional History Targeting a Sitting President (Comprehensive)

The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (Gong-su-cheo) filed an arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol on charges of insurrection on the 30th. This is the first time in constitutional history that an investigative agency has taken coercive custody measures against a sitting president.

President Yoon Suk-yeol

The joint investigation headquarters, composed of Gong-su-cheo and the police, announced that they filed the arrest warrant for President Yoon at the Seoul Western District Court at midnight on the same day.

Previously, Gong-su-cheo requested President Yoon to appear three times on charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power obstructing the exercise of rights, but President Yoon's side did not respond at all. They also did not submit any separate absence notice or lawyer appointment letter.

If a suspect refuses to comply with an investigative agency's summons without justifiable reason, the agency can request an arrest warrant and, upon issuance by the court, proceed with coercive custody. The court will decide whether to issue the arrest warrant after examining the evidence supporting the charges against President Yoon and his refusal to appear.

President Yoon's side is reportedly protesting, claiming that the warrant request comes from an agency without investigative authority. Yoon's lawyer, Yoon Gap-geun, stated in a media interview that "an official response will be made."

Lawyer Yoon also announced that he plans to submit a statement of opinion regarding the arrest warrant along with the lawyer appointment letter to the Seoul Western District Court in the afternoon.