By Hyonhee Shin and Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) -Behind rows of barbed wire and a small army of personal security, impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol remained holed up in his sprawling hillside villa with his wife, dogs and cats on Tuesday as investigators planned his arrest.
Since parliament voted to impeach and suspend him last month over his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3, Yoon has been lying low at his official residence in Hannam-dong, an upscale district popular with business tycoons and celebrities known as Korea’s Beverly Hills.
Meanwhile, investigators seeking to question him on allegations of insurrection have struggled to execute a warrant for his arrest.
The head of the investigation unit, blocked by a human chain of hundreds of presidential security service and military guards outside his residence last week, said on Tuesday they remained determined to bring him in.
There has been little information about how Yoon has been whiling away his days at the residence with First Lady Kim Keon Hee, his six dogs and five cats since his impeachment. And he has taken aggressive measures to maintain his privacy.
Last week, his office filed legal complaints against three television networks and a YouTuber, who released a viral video showing what appears to be the First Lady walking a white dog, for illegally filming the area designated as a sensitive military installation.
Security personnel have also barricaded the street leading up to his residence with buses blocking the road and setting up barbed wire.
Yoon “has been effectively confined to his residence”, said lawyer Seok Dong-hyeon, Yoon’s close friend who often communicates with the president. Another source with knowledge of the issue, speaking on condition of anonymity due to political sensitivity, said Yoon has been receiving few guests other than his lawyers but is “getting by just fine”.
A few days after his impeachment, he quietly celebrated his 64th birthday at home. His supporters sent flowers to the residence, while more than 2,000 letters were delivered to his office, according to news agency Yonhap. His office said it could not confirm the report.
The building, extensively renovated after Yoon took the unusual step of moving into what was formerly used as the foreign minister’s residence after he took office in 2022, was once a hive of activity.
Yoon has invited foreign leaders there for meals including Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Japan’s then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, for whom Yoon and his wife hosted an elaborate, formal dinner beneath a shimmering chandelier.
More recently in October, the conservative leader – who considers himself an accomplished chef and gourmand – discussed the president’s emergency powers over a meal he cooked for his then-defence minister and army commanders, according to an indictment against the minister.
Yoon’s office declined to comment on the allegations in the indictment.
HIGH-PROFILE NEIGHBOURS
Looking over the Han River running through Seoul, the residence was built in the late 1960s.
Yoon’s neighbours in the district include the Lee and Chung families of the Samsung and Hyundai conglomerates, as well as many K-pop stars including BTS members, while it also houses ministerial and ambassadors’ residences and luxury shops.
Yoon’s decision to break with decades of tradition to move his home away from the Blue House executive mansion after he took office sparked controversy over the renovation costs and whether Yoon was influenced by masters of feng shui, a form of geomancy that originated in China, or a shaman in opting for the relocation.
The compound sprawls across 14,710 square metres (17,600 square yards) – about two soccer pitches – with two buildings housing multiple banquet halls, meeting rooms, a reception venue, a lounge and a manicured garden, according to local media reports.
When opposition lawmakers said some lavish facilities such as a golf simulator were built inside, Yoon’s office denied the allegations and his chief of staff also called the place “humble”.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Ju-min Park; Editing by John Geddie and Alex Richardson)
