Seoul: A special counsel team has accused former President Yoon Suk Yeol of instructing his security staff to brandish firearms during an attempt by investigators to detain him in January. This allegation was made in an arrest warrant request made public on Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the 66-page document filed to the court on Sunday claims that Yoon gave the order to senior officials of the Presidential Security Service (PSS) on January 11, just days before anti-corruption and police officials moved to apprehend him. The special counsel team is probing Yoon's imposition of martial law on December 3 and alleges that he instructed his security staff to carry guns as a means to intimidate police investigators.
The special counsel team has charged Yoon with obstruction of special official duties, abuse of authority, and other charges related to his alleged resistance to detention. Yoon's legal representatives have denied these allegations, arguing that his detention was carried out under an illegal warrant.
Further accusations against Yoon include instructing Kim Seong-hoon, then deputy chief of the PSS, to delete records of secure phone communications involving three former military commanders connected to the martial law operations. This instruction allegedly occurred days after his failed attempt on December 3.
Yoon's legal team contends that the former president merely directed officials to act in accordance with the law, insisting that the charge is unfounded as no records were actually deleted. Additionally, Yoon is accused of instructing the presidential spokesperson for foreign press on December 4 to disseminate false information to foreign media, claiming that lawmakers were not restricted from entering the National Assembly and that martial law was declared within constitutional limits.