South Korean investigators leave presidential residence after failing to arrest Yoon

South Korean investigators with the anti-corruption investigative authorities left the presidential residence after failing to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday.

Earlier in the day, a group of prosecutors and investigators of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) arrived in the presidential residence in central Seoul, and attempted to arrest the impeached president over his short-lived martial law imposition on December 3, 2024.

At one point, the group of prosecutors and investigators tried to force their way into the presidential residence to arrest Yoon, leading to a brief physical conflict with the security guards manning the presidential residence. After the confrontation, the prosecutors and investigators had to stop proceeding with the arrest warrant.

The CIO said the continued confrontation virtually made it impossible to execute the arrest warrant against Yoon, which was issued by a Seoul court on Tuesday.

The CIO noted that it stopped the execution at about 13:30 local time over concerns about the safety of investigators at the scene, expressing deep regret over the attitude of Yoon who refused to comply with legal procedures.

The investigative authorities added that it will decide on future measures after relevant reviews.

South Korean investigators leave presidential residence after failing to arrest Yoon

South Korean investigators leave presidential residence after failing to arrest Yoon

South Korean investigators leave presidential residence after failing to arrest Yoon

South Korean investigators leave presidential residence after failing to arrest Yoon

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it would slash key interest rates by 25 basis points in a bid to wind down the restrictive monetary policy.

Effective from March 12, the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will be decreased to 2.50 percent, 2.65 percent and 2.90 percent respectively, said the central bank in a statement.

The disinflation process is well on track, with headline inflation averaging 2.3 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026 and 2.0 percent in 2027, the ECB said.

The decision to keep on cutting rates came at a time when the economy in the eurozone is facing increasing uncertainties.

In its latest edition of the staff projections on Thursday, the ECB lowered its forecast for economic growth in the eurozone to 0.9 percent for 2025, 1.2 percent for 2026 and 1.3 percent for 2027.

This marks a downward revision from the ECB's forecast in December last year, which had projected 1.1 percent growth in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, while the 2027 outlook remains unchanged.

The ECB attributed the weaker growth outlook for 2025 and 2026 to declining exports and sluggish investment, citing high trade policy uncertainty and broader economic instability as key factors.

ECB cuts interest rates by 25 basis points