"It Was Just a Matter of Refusing... Should Have Said So Earlier" Yoon's Failed Arrest and the 'Park Geun-hye Tears' Meme Draw Attention

Comparison with the Park Geun-hye Impeachment Crisis... Sharing Photos of Park Shedding Tears

As President Yoon Suk-yeol resisted the execution of an arrest warrant, internet users have been sharing memes comparing the current situation to the impeachment crisis of former President Park Geun-hye.

Online community capture

On the 3rd, a photo was posted on various online communities under the title "So you just had to refuse." The photo showed former President Park Geun-hye crying, with a short caption below saying, "You should have told me earlier, damn it." This criticized President Yoon for thwarting the execution of the arrest warrant through so-called "holding out," contrasting it with former President Park, who complied with the warrant execution without resistance.

Online community capture

In addition, various memes satirizing President Yoon have emerged since the December 3 emergency martial law incident, and these are gaining renewed attention. Netizens shared a photo of President Yoon sitting face-to-face with former President Park, adding the line, "I only thought about (martial law) too." Another satire showed former President Park pointing somewhere with her finger and telling President Yoon, "That’s Seoul Detention Center."

Netizens who saw these responded with comments such as, "To the point where Park Geun-hye looks like a model president," "Exactly. You just have to hold out, so why did she go to jail?" "At least Park Geun-hye didn’t take the law lightly," "Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) would say this is unfair," and "We might have to reassess Park Geun-hye," showing relative praise for former President Park, who complied with the warrant execution.

Previously, former President Park also refused all prosecution investigations and Constitutional Court appearances before being impeached in the state affairs manipulation case, but after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment and she was removed from office, she complied with the execution of warrants issued by the court. Not only former President Park, but also former Presidents Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan, and Lee Myung-bak were arrested after leaving office and did not resist the execution of issued warrants. However, President Yoon’s side stated that the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Agency’s (HCIA) attempt to execute the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid, strongly demanding "to proceed with work in compliance with the law."

Earlier, the HCIA arrived at President Yoon’s residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, at around 7:17 a.m. on the 3rd and attempted to execute the arrest warrant. The defense team and security staff resisted the execution, leading to a standoff lasting about six hours. Eventually, the HCIA suspended the execution at around 1:30 p.m. that day for safety reasons.