Seoul: Military personnel on guard duty at the presidential residence will not be mobilized to obstruct investigators from attempting to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, the defense ministry said Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, investigators are expected to make a second attempt to detain Yoon this week over his short-lived martial law imposition, following a previous failed bid earlier this month. The initial attempt involved an extended standoff between the police and Yoon's security staff at the compound in central Seoul.
In a briefing, Col. Lee Kyung-ho, a spokesperson for the defense ministry, emphasized, "The military security unit will focus on its mission to guard the perimeters of the residence and will not be mobilized to obstruct the warrant execution." The defense ministry has communicated this stance to the Presidential Security Service (PSS), which confirmed it would not mobilize the military unit guarding the residence.
Later in the day, acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho reaffirmed the ministry's opposition to utilizing military personnel to hinder efforts to detain Yoon. During a special parliamentary committee session on Yoon's martial law declaration, Kim stated, "Deploying military forces to engage in physical action in the enforcement of law would not be justified and is not part of their assigned duties." Earlier, Kim had directed the military unit at the presidential residence to avoid physical confrontations with police during their attempt to detain Yoon.
Police suspect that PSS officials may have instructed the unit to participate in efforts to block investigators from detaining Yoon during their first attempt on January 3.