𝗦𝗘𝗢𝗨𝗟 — A snowstorm did little to deter thousands of South Korean protesters on Sunday, who gathered to demand the arrest of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol. The president, who has been resisting arrest for days after a failed martial law attempt, is facing an expiring arrest warrant in less than 48 hours.
Yoon’s controversial martial law declaration last month plunged the nation into political turmoil, and since then, he has remained holed up in the presidential residence, surrounded by loyal security forces resisting efforts to detain him.
International correspondent Bombo Danah Vasquez reports that thousands of protesters once again flocked to the presidential residence and key roads in Seoul, following a failed attempt to arrest Yoon the previous day. One group is calling for Yoon’s immediate arrest, while another demands the invalidation of his impeachment.
Despite the bitter snowstorm blanketing the capital, pro-Yoon supporters rallied in front of his home on Sunday. One of the demonstrators, Park Young-chul, a man in his 70s, said the snow wouldn’t prevent him from showing support for the president before the arrest warrant expires at midnight on Monday.
The protests come amid heightened tensions as President Yoon addressed his supporters in a YouTube livestream earlier this week, vowing to “fight” against those challenging his controversial power grab.
Yoon faces charges of insurrection, one of the few crimes not covered by presidential immunity, which means he could face a prison sentence or, in the worst case, the death penalty. If the arrest warrant is executed, Yoon would make history as the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, further deepening the political crisis.
