South Korean anti-corruption agency and police debate tougher measures to detain impeached president

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s anti-corruption agency and police debated on Monday more forceful measures to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after their previous attempt was blocked by the presidential security service last week.

The discussions highlighted the obstacles facing the criminal investigation into Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law decree, which led to his impeachment on Dec. 14. The one-week detention warrant was set to expire at midnight, but the agency requested a new court warrant to extend the timeframe for taking Yoon into custody.

The Seoul Western District Court last week issued a warrant to detain Yoon and a separate warrant to search his residence after he defied authorities by refusing to appear for questioning over his brief power grab. Executing those warrants is complicated as long as Yoon remains in his official residence.

Yoon has described his power grab as a necessary act of governance against a liberal opposition bogging down his agenda with its legislative majority and has vowed to “fight to the end” against efforts to oust him. While martial law lasted only several hours, it set off turmoil that has shaken the country’s politics, diplomacy and financial markets for weeks and exposed the fragility of South Korea’s democracy while society is deeply polarized.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which leads a joint investigation with police and military investigators, revealed Monday it had asked police to take over efforts to detain Yoon, following its prominent role in Friday’s failure.

However, the anti-corruption agency backtracked hours later after the police stated it could be legally problematic for them to be entirely responsible for Yoon’s detention, given that the warrants had been obtained by the agency.

The agency, which has faced questions about its competence after failing to detain Yoon, said the efforts to execute the warrants would be carried out under the authority of the joint investigation team but did not clarify whether its approach would change.

Police say they plan to make a more aggressive effort to detain Yoon at the official residence, where members of the presidential security staff were seen installing barbed wire near the gate and along the hills leading up to the building.

A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity per department rules, told reporters there were discussions with the anti-corruption agency on whether to arrest members of the presidential security staff if they forcefully obstruct efforts to detain Yoon.

When asked about the possibility of deploying police special task forces, the official said “all available options” were being reviewed.

If investigators manage to detain Yoon, they will likely ask a court for permission to make a formal arrest. Otherwise, he will be released after 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the agency has urged the country’s acting leader, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, to instruct the presidential security service to comply with the execution of the detainment warrant. Choi has yet to publicly comment on the issue.

Yoon’s lawyers argued the detention and search warrants against the president cannot be enforced at his residence due to a law that protects locations potentially linked to military secrets from search without the consent of the person in charge — which would be Yoon. They also argue the anti-corruption office lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges and delegate police to detain Yoon.

Yoon’s lawyers on Monday filed complaints with public prosecutors against the anti-corruption agency’s chief prosecutor, Oh Dong-woon, and six other anti-corruption and police officers for orchestrating Friday’s detainment attempt, which they claim was illegal.

The lawyers also filed complaints against the country’s acting national police chief, the acting defense minister and two Seoul police officials for ignoring the presidential security service’s request to provide additional forces to block the detention attempt. The lawyers said they also plan to file complaints against some 150 anti-corruption and police investigators who were involved in Friday’s detention attempt.

The anti-corruption agency has been weighing charges of rebellion after Yoon declared martial law and dispatched troops to surround the National Assembly. Lawmakers who managed to get past the blockade voted to lift martial law hours later.

His fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.

Protesters demanding the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a rally near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A protester blows a vuvuzela during a rally demanding the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The letters read "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters demanding the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a rally near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The letters read "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters stage a rally demanding the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The letters read "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Protesters wait for a rally demanding the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A supporter of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans during a rally to oppose his impeachment near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting higher as Wall Street’s superstar, Nvidia, steams toward another record. The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in early trading Tuesday. The index is on track for a third straight gain following a five-day swoon that bridged the new year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 180 points, or 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.3%. Nvidia rose after its CEO unveiled a suite of new products and partnerships at a keynote address the night before at a major electronics conference. Shutterstock and Getty soared after announcing they were combining to become a $3.7 billion visual content company.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street inched modestly higher in premarket trading Tuesday amid a flurry of corporate news during a week of critical economic data being released by Washington.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up just 0.1% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrials Average rose about 0.2%.

Shares of Shutterstock and Getty Images both soared after they announced they were joining to become a $3.7 billion visual content company to provide customers with a broader array still imagery, video, music, 3D and other media.

Getty Images shareholders will own about 54.7% of the combined company and Shutterstock stockholders will own approximately 45.3%. Getty shares jumped more than 57% in premarket, while Shutterstock climbed 32%.

Meta Platforms shares were largely unchanged after the owner of Facebook appointed three new directors to its board, including Dana White, the president and CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship and a key figure in the orbit of incoming President Donald Trump.

The social media company is also adding auto tycoon John Elkann and tech investor Charlie Songhurst, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post late Monday.

Shares in some notable Chinese companies fell after the U.S. Defense Department added dozens of them to a list of companies it says have ties to China’s military. The announcement caused some of the companies to protest and say they will seek to have the decision reversed.

Added to the list were gaming and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence firm SenseTime and the world’s biggest battery maker CATL. Tencent’s Hong Kong-traded shares fell 7.3% on Tuesday while CATL shares dropped almost 3%.

In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.8%, Germany's DAX rose 0.4% and Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.2%.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped nearly 2.0% to finish at 40,083.30. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.3% to 8,285.10. South Korea's Kospi added 0.1% to 2,492.10.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 1.2% to 19,447.58 as shares in technology and games company Tencent plunged 7.3% after it was hit by U.S. sanctions.

The Shanghai Composite edged 0.7% higher to 3,229.64.

Investors are also watching for possible policy changes under incoming President Donald Trump, whose term is beginning soon, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

"The convergence of these financial indicators points to a heightened alert among traders, who carefully calibrate their strategies for potential shifts in policy and economic directives that the new administration may bring," he said.

Nvidia and other AI stocks have kept climbing recently, despite concern that their stock prices have already shot too high, too fast.

The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will close their stock and options markets on Thursday in observance of a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter.

But in a potentially market-moving event later in the week, the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its last policy meeting, where it cut its main interest rate for a third straight time.

The monthly jobs report, along with an update on how U.S. consumers are feeling, are set for Friday. So far, the economy has remained remarkably resilient. The Fed began cutting interest rates in September after inflation pulled nearly all the way down to its 2% target.

Getting the last percentage point of improvement from inflation may prove more difficult. Worries are also rising that tariffs and other policies coming from President-elect Donald Trump could push inflation higher.

Delta Air Lines and Walgreens Boots Alliance report their latest financial results on Friday.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 46 cents to $74.02 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 63 cents to $76.93 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 157.73 Japanese yen from 157.65 yen. The euro was largely unchanged at $1.0390.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Stock price board is seen after a ceremony marking the start of this year's trading Tokyo Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)