South Korea’s Political Turmoil Deepens as Arrest Warrant for Impeached President Resubmitted

Anti-corruption investigators in South Korea have filed a revised arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose controversial attempt to impose a martial emergency last month ignited a national outcry and heightened the country’s ongoing political crisis.

The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) announced late Monday that it had resubmitted a request to the Seoul Western District Court to extend the expired detention warrant for Yoon.

From his heavily guarded residence, Yoon, under investigation for alleged insurrection, has evaded arrest. “The Joint Investigation Headquarters today refiled a warrant to extend the arrest warrant for defendant Yoon,” the CIO said in a statement, declining to specify the duration of the new warrant.

If approved, Yoon would become South Korea’s first sitting president to face detention.

Yoon, a former top prosecutor, has declined to cooperate with investigators on three occasions. His legal team has dismissed the original arrest warrant as “illegal,” arguing that the CIO lacks jurisdiction over insurrection-related charges.

Legal experts, however, believe the revised warrant has a strong chance of approval. Yun Bok-Nam, president of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, noted, “The court is unlikely to reject the extension, though it may take some time for the warrant to be reissued.”

If convicted, Yoon could face severe penalties, including life imprisonment or the death sentence.

The Constitutional Court has scheduled Yoon’s impeachment trial for January 14. While local reports suggest he may attend, his legal team has not confirmed his participation. The court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate Yoon’s authority or uphold his impeachment.

Tensions around Yoon’s residence, which reached a peak during last week’s six-hour standoff with investigators, have temporarily eased. On Tuesday, the area outside his home appeared calmer, though demonstrators continue to gather in support of the former president.

This case marks South Korea’s third presidential impeachment trial in recent history, following the cases of Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016–2017.

The CIO, a relatively new investigative body, faces mounting pressure to manage the high-profile case effectively despite criticism over its resources and experience.