Police forces cross a second barricade set up at President Yoon Suk Yeol's official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, Wednesday, as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and police attempt to execute a second arrest warrant for the president. Yonhap

Police are attempting to execute an arrest warrant for Kim Sung-hoon, deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), as they engage in a standoff with the security team outside President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, while also seeking to carry out a second arrest warrant for the president, Wednesday.

The police will also execute an arrest warrant for PSS Director Lee Kwang-woo. Both officials are known for their staunch loyalty and active efforts to block the execution of President Yoon's arrest warrant.

These warrants were issued on Jan. 13 and 14, targeting key figures considered hardliners within the security service.

Citing the Presidential Security Act, the police said that only the president and their immediate family are protected under the law, leaving the two officials without grounds for such protection.

The arrest warrants for Yoon and the two officials remain valid until Jan. 21.

Kim Sung-hoon, deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service / Yonhap

At approximately 4:15 a.m., vehicles from the joint investigative team, comprising police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), arrived at the residence.

By 4:39 a.m., police buses also reached the scene. At 5:10 a.m., the task force presented arrest and search warrants and attempted to enter the residence.

However, Yoon's defense attorneys, Kim Hong-il and Yoon Kap-keun, blocked the entrance, arguing that the operation violated due process.

Attorney Kim said, "This is not a lawful execution of public duty. The warrants lack exceptions under Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act, making all actions illegal and tantamount to treason." He further asserted that "the president is a constitutional institution" and warned the police to "stand down."

The joint task force also issued warnings to roughly 80 individuals, including 40 lawmakers and party officials from the ruling People Power Party, who had gathered at the scene. The task force said that anyone obstructing the operation would be arrested on-site as offenders caught in the act.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.