January 20, 2025
SEOUL – In a shocking turn of events, a court in South Korea was attacked starting at approximately 3 a.m. Sunday morning by hundreds of protesters who opposed the court’s ruling that granted a formal arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol over his Dec. 3 botched imposition of martial law.
In an emergency leadership meeting held hours after 46 of the rioters were taken into custody on-site at the court Sunday morning, the National Police Agency called the incident “a serious challenge to the rule of law.” Vowing strict measures, police announced the formation of an ad-hoc team to hold all the perpetrators accountable.
“Based on collected evidence, we will take strict action — including investigating suspects while they are under formal arrest — against not only the riot leaders, but all individuals involved in the illegal activities,” police said.
“We recognize the gravity of ensuring that such incidents do not occur again in the future and will actively address them.”
A total of 87 individuals were taken into custody from Saturday to early Sunday from Yoon’s supporters who had been protesting in front of the Seoul Western District Court.
Unprecedented attack
It is the first time that a riot attacking a South Korean court occurred.
Die-hard supporters of Yoon, who was suspended from office following the National Assembly’s Dec. 14 impeachment vote and is now under arrest, had gathered near the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday as the president decided to attend the 2 p.m. hearing for his arrest warrant in person.
Scenes of violence were filmed into the evening, with some protesters trespassing into the court and others surrounding and damaging vehicles belonging to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the agency leading the joint probe of Yoon on charges of leading an insurrection and committing abuse of power.
According to a YTN report, some of the rioters shouted, “Kill all the CIO!” followed by profanities. One of the CIO investigators was physically assaulted, according to the authority.
When the court’s decision came out at around 3 a.m. the next morning, the violence escalated into a major riot.
Multiple local YouTubers were among the perpetrators, livestreaming as the rioters shouted, “This is civil war!” “Judge, come out!” “The Western District Court is a court of insurrection” and “President Yoon Suk Yeol did nothing wrong,” followed by swear words. They seized shields from police and used them along with hammers, metal posts and furniture to smash the court’s main entrance, windows and building’s exterior cladding, eventually entering the court building at around 3:21 a.m.
Videos also showed the rioters assaulting police officers with stolen police shields and batons, while throwing ashtrays, stones and trash as they forced their way into the court building. Once inside, they sprayed the police with fire extinguishers and vandalized televisions and ATMs, among other items.
Local broadcaster JTBC captured footage of the rioters storming the building up to the seventh floor of the court, where the judges’ private offices are located. They smashed glass partitions and office equipment in various offices, apparently searching for Judge Cha Eun-kyung, who presided over Saturday’s hearing and was responsible for the decision to issue the warrant. YTN and other local media reported that the rioters also broke into the server room on the third floor, smashing equipment and pouring water on it.
At around 3:32 a.m., police deployed approximately 1,400 riot officers to subdue the rioters in the court building. By around 6 a.m. most of the protesters inside and outside the court had been brought under control, according to the police.
A total of 46 rioters were apprehended at the scene, bringing the total number of those detained during protests over the court’s arrest warrant hearing for Yoon on Saturday and early Sunday to 87 people.
Lee Ho-young, acting chief of the police, said the authorities will investigate, if deemed necessary, whether far-right YouTubers were responsible for inciting violence at the court.
Yoon, who is currently being detained at Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, is accused of leading an insurrection and committing abuse of power with his Dec. 3 martial law declaration.
He was taken into custody Wednesday in an over six-hour operation involving 1,100 investigators and police after refusing to comply with three summonses for questioning and barricading himself in the presidential residence.