Rival camps protest in South Korea as the authorities press for the arrest of Yoon | Politics news

Prosecutors are asking the acting president to order security forces to comply with the arrest warrant for the accused leader Yoon.

Thousands of South Korean protesters for and against impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol staged rival demonstrations in Seoul, a day after authorities. did not execute an arrest warrant on the suspended leader for his brief declaration of martial law last month.

Demonstrators clashed outside the presidential residence and along major roads in the South Korean capital on Saturday to demand Yoon’s arrest or demand that his impeachment be declared invalid.

The widening of the political divide comes as investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) for High-Ranking Officials have pressured the country’s acting president Choi Sang-mok to order the security service presidential order to comply with an arrest warrant for Yoon.

On Friday, the presidential security service and soldiers prevented prosecutors from arresting Yoon in a six-hour standoff at the impeached president’s compound. Investigators eventually called off the arrest attempt citing safety concerns.

The confrontation — which allegedly included shoving, but no shots fired — left the warrant in limbo, with the court order set to expire Monday.

Yoon’s martial declaration on December 3 stunned South Korea and led to the first arrest warrant to be issued for a sitting president, while he also triggered. a deep political crisis.

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

His lawyers denounced Friday’s attempted arrest as “illegal and invalid” and said they would take legal action.

Also on Saturday, police asked Park Chong-jun, the head of the Presidential Security Service that protects Yoon, to appear for questioning on Tuesday, Yonhap News reported.

Al Jazeera’s Patrick Fok, reporting from Seoul, said Saturday’s protests were peaceful and orderly.

“It has been remarkable in many ways, but a sense of frustration among people against President Yoon is undoubtedly growing,” he said.

“And you wonder how long these demonstrations can be peaceful if the situation continues as it is.”

Supporters of Yoon Kim Chul-hong, 60, said the impeached president’s arrest could undermine South Korea’s security alliance with the United States and Japan.

“Protecting President Yoon means safeguarding our country’s security against threats from North Korea,” he told the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, South Korea’s largest umbrella union, tried to march to Yoon’s residence to protest against him, but were blocked by police.

The union said two of its members were arrested and several others were injured in scuffles with police on Saturday.

Investigators may still make another bid to arrest Yoon before the court order expires on Monday. If the warrant expires, investigators can still request another one.

The Constitutional Court has scheduled January 14 for the beginning of Yoon’s impeachment trialwhich would continue in his absence if he does not attend.