On the morning of January 3 KST, South Korea's Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) set out to execute the arrest warrant of president Yoon Suk Yeol. However, facing opposition from security stationed at the presidential residence, the CIO team became entangled in a standoff into the afternoon, ultimately failing in their attempt to detain the president.
At approximately 8:02 AM KST, 30 representatives including Chief Investigator Lee Dae Hwan of the CIO's Emergency Martial Law Task Force arrived in front of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, accompanied by 120 members of the police and special forces, making up the '12.3 Emergency Martial Law Investigation Team'. On the opposing side, Park Jong Joon, Chief of the Presidential Security Service, refused to cooperate with the arrest, claiming that to cooperate would go against the responsibilities of the Security Service. It's also believed that the Presidential Security Service mobilized enlisted soldiers from the 55th security force of the ROK Army's Capital Defense Command, stationing them in front of the building to block the president's arrest. As the unit tasked with guarding the presidential residence, the 55th security force answers to the command of the Presidential Security Service and cannot be commanded by the ROK Army.
The standoff between the CIO team and the 55th security force lasted for 5 and a half hours, before the CIO team formally called off the arrest at approximately 1:30 PM KST. The CIO team stated, "It has been concluded that the arrest warrant cannot be executed due to safety concerns. It is quite regretful that the suspect refused to comply with legal procedures."
According to a representative of the police, "No individuals were arrested for interference with a public official in the execution of their duty."
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