“STABLE PATH”
According to South Korean advertising, CIO officials wanted to question Yoon at their Gwacheon business before arresting him.
After that, he could have been held for up to 48 hours on the existing permit. He would have needed to be taken into custody again, according to authorities, who would have needed to apply for another imprisonment warrant.
The CIO may include 48 hours to either obtain a fresh warrant for Yoon’s formal arrest or relieve him if he is detained before that date.
Yet if Jan 6 comes and goes, the CIO may return for the same seven-day confinement permit.
Investigators may get a new, stronger imprisonment warrant that may allow them to detain Yoon for more than the 48 hours permitted by the latest court order if they don’t detain him before the deadline of Jan 6.
Given that Yoon has now refused to appear for questioning three days and has not complied with the existing permit, experts say the likelihood of a judge approving it is not small.
Social commentator Park Sang-byung told AFP that the stronger permit is usually issued when” a criminal refuses to cooperate with the analysis.”
Yoon has also “incited and encouraged extreme ( right-wing ) supporters, which could be seen as effectively admitting to the criminal charges in the eyes of the court”, he added.
However, it might not be possible to carry out this kind of subpoena if Yoon once more refuses to leave his home with the assistance of his safety troops, which include a military unit, even if it were issued by the court.
Yoon has remained stubborn and promised to fight” to the very end” with his right-wing followers this week to ensure his social life.
By the time Yoon’s arrest was made, he had layered his political mixture with lots of security personnel to stop it.
Around 200 military and security officers were significantly outnumbered by about 20 investigators and 80 police officers who were tasked with blocking their path by arm-twisting in large numbers.
The investigators were forced to make a U-turn until Friday evening, which lasted for a strained six-hour standoff.
The authorities said in a speech on Friday that they would request from Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, who was appointed acting leader a week ago, to support the warrant.
Choi, a Yoon People Power Party part who also serves as a finance minister and deputy prime minister, has not made any comments on the matter.
The likelihood of Yoon being detained before the Jan. 6 date may rise, according to authorities.
The operating president’s appointment of two new judges to load three vacancies on the Constitutional Court has already caused his party a lot of backlash.
With at least six out of eight required to support the ruling, Yoon’s prosecution is more likely to be upheld.
Given the situation, “it is doubtful that Choi may cooperate with the CIO’s demand”, Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP.
Legislators impeached Choi’s short-lived predecessor, Han Duck-soo, for refusing to place three additional judges at the Constitutional Court, which they believed would slow Yoon’s resumption of business.