Investigators enter presidential compound in second attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and police enter the presidential residence compound in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, on Jan. 15, as they make a second attempt to execute a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol early Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Investigators of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and police made a second attempt to execute a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol early Wednesday.  
 
At around 4:20 a.m., vehicles carrying CIO and police investigators arrived in front of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong in Yongsan District, central Seoul. They had earlier departed from the CIO headquarters at the Gwacheon government complex in Gyeonggi around 4 a.m.  
 

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Following their first failed attempt 12 days ago, the CIO said it has made thorough preparations bracing for the possibility that the operation to detain Yoon could last up to three days should presidential security rebuff them again.  
 
Some 1,200 police personnel were dispatched to execute the warrant, some 10 times the number sent in the first attempt.  
 
Police also said some 3,200 personnel were dispatched to maintain safety near the presidential residence, where thousands of people gathered to rally for and against Yoon's arrest following his botched martial law declaration on Dec. 3.  
 
The CIO and police presented arrest and search warrants to Yoon's legal team at the entrance around 5:10 a.m. and have been engaging in a standoff with the Presidential Security Service (PSS).  
 
A group of some 30 conservative People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers also gathered outside the presidential residence to physically block investigators.  
 
Yoon's lawyers in turn decried the warrant attempt as being "illegal" and an obstruction of duty.  
 
At around 5:45 a.m. police and CIO investigators attempted to forcibly enter the compound, pushing through a human chain created by PPP lawmakers and Yoon's legal team at the entrance. Some investigators tried to make their way up to the residence following the Mount Maebong hiking trail.  
 
The CIO and police investigators cut through fences and employed ladders to cross the first barricade of vehicles, finally entering the presidential compound at around 7:30 a.m. They soon passed a second barricade further into the compound.  
 
The CIO-led joint investigation team initially attempted to execute an arrest warrant on Yoon on Jan. 3, but withdrew after a five-hour standoff as investigators were blocked by the PSS and military units including the 55th Security Brigade. Yoon was impeached by the liberal Democratic Party-controlled National Assembly on Dec. 14 and has been suspended from duties.  
 
Acting President Choi Sang-mok in a statement Wednesday warned against physical conflict, noting that anyone responsible for "any grave violation leading to unfortunate incidents" will be held "accountable."
 
The current warrant to detain and search Yoon is valid through Jan. 21, leaving room for the CIO to try again if Wednesday's arrest attempt fails.  
 

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]