Wie Angst- und Verschwörungstheorien die politische Krise Südkoreas anheizen

Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is accused of being the ringleader of an insurrection, has promised to keep up the fight while stirring up supporters gathered in front of his residence to oppose his impeachment. Yoon appears to be asking his supporters to prevent the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) from executing an arrest warrant against him.

It’s astonishing enough for a former prosecutor general and sitting president to reject a court-issued warrant. But now Yoon is effectively egging on armed resistance against an investigative body carrying out the law. That’s a situation that cannot be ignored any longer.

“The Republic of Korea is currently in danger because of the machinations of anti-state forces and of forces intent on stealing our sovereignty. I will never stop fighting alongside you to defend our country,” Yoon wrote in a letter delivered to protestors in front of the presidential residence in the Hannam neighborhood of Seoul on New Year’s Day.

Even after multiple high-ranking officers in the military and the police have been detained because of Yoon’s unconstitutional declaration of martial law, Yoon is plunging the nation into peril by asking his supporters to protect himself, without a shred of remorse. He could hardly be more reckless, shameless or disgraceful.

The sophistry spun out by Yoon’s attorneys has also crossed the line. “We can prevail if we sway public opinion. The arrest warrant is illegal and invalid,” Seok Dong-hyeon, Yoon’s attorney, said during a demonstration at the presidential residence on Wednesday.

Yoon’s legal team also released a statement containing the following ridiculous assertion: “If the riot police execute the search and arrest warrant on the behalf of the CIO, they could be arrested not only by the Presidential Security Service but by any citizens for violating their authority and interfering with the execution of official business.”

That amounts to an appeal for protesters to attack the police. How much longer should this kind of rabble-rousing be tolerated?

There are signs that Yoon and his attorneys’ incitement is gradually making protestors more belligerent.

One YouTuber remarked that “if you light a fuse in a 100-liter drum full of gasoline and roll it away, you can create an inferno with a 30-meter radius.” The same YouTuber said that protesters “need to acquire all defensive means, including slingshots, steel pipes, firebombs and stones.”

Another YouTuber advocated “establishing a militia to block [Yoon’s arrest] at all costs.”

Yoon already tried mobilizing the military to usurp the authority of the National Assembly. But apparently, one insurrection attempt wasn’t enough, because he’s now goading his supporters to launch a second one.

Out of concern for a physical clash or some other emergency situation, the main opposition Democratic Party instructed party lawmakers on Thursday to remain on “emergency standby.”

The CIO and other cooperating law enforcement bodies need to immediately seize the man accused of being an insurrection ringleader and quarantine him from society. His incitement must be stopped. The risk for the national community is too great to brook any further delay.