Man sets himself on fire, split over South Korean president's arrest

(CLO) A man was seriously injured on Wednesday after setting himself on fire near where impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was being questioned over martial law, police said.

The man, who has not yet been identified, set himself on fire in a grassy area near the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) in Gwacheon at around 8:05 p.m. local time. He was taken to hospital and remains in critical condition.

The South Korean public remains deeply divided over Yoon’s arrest. Many protesters who protested Yoon’s arrest over martial law on December 3 were still gathered outside the CIO office at the time of the incident.

Scene of the incident. Photo: GI

Mr. Yoon is under investigation after being detained and questioned by authorities on Wednesday in connection with a criminal investigation into sedition, and he said he was only cooperating with what he called an illegal investigation to avoid violence. He refused to answer any questions on Wednesday and will be questioned again by the CIO early this afternoon.

Since lawmakers voted to impeach him following a brief declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, Mr. Yoon has been holed up at the president’s hillside residence, protected by a small army of presidential guards who had foiled an earlier arrest attempt.

After days of wrangling and arguing, Mr Yoon finally agreed to cooperate when more than 3,000 police officers attempted to arrest him early Wednesday morning. “I decided to respond to the CIO investigation – even though it was an illegal investigation – to prevent unnecessary bloodshed,” Mr Yoon said in a statement.

A prosecutor accompanied Mr. Yoon by car from his residence in the upscale Beverly Hills area of ​​Seoul to the CIO office, where he entered through a back door, avoiding media attention.

South Korean authorities now have 48 hours to question Mr. Yoon, after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him. A CIO official said Mr. Yoon refused to answer questions and would not agree to be interviewed by investigators on video.

Yoon's lawyer said the arrest warrant was illegal because it was issued by a court without jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal authority to do so. The search warrant for Yoon's residence called him a "rebellion ringleader."

Hoang Hai (according to CIO, Yonhap, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chia-re-van-tang-cao-trong-vu-tong-thong-han-quoc-bi-bat-post330594.html