Tue Dec 31 07:26:28 UTC 2024: ## South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Faces Arrest Warrant in Unprecedented Move
**Seoul, South Korea** – In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing political crisis, a South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday. This marks the first time a sitting South Korean president has faced such a measure.
Yoon, who declared martial law nearly a month ago, triggering widespread chaos, is charged with abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. The Seoul Western District Court granted the warrant following his refusal to cooperate with investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO). The president’s lawyer denounced the warrant as “illegal and invalid.”
The arrest warrant comes after parliament impeached Yoon earlier this month, with some members of his own party turning against him. He also faces a Constitutional Court trial regarding his removal from office, a process that could take up to six months. The court’s first pretrial hearing was held on December 27th, with a second scheduled for Friday. Yoon has been banned from leaving the country.
Adding to the political turmoil, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who assumed presidential duties after Yoon’s impeachment, was also impeached last Friday for refusing to fill vacancies on the Constitutional Court. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is now acting president, facing a multitude of challenges including the ongoing political crisis and the aftermath of a deadly plane crash that killed nearly all 181 people on board a Jeju Air flight on Sunday. The country is currently grappling with a complex web of legal and political battles, with the future of the presidency hanging in the balance.
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