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South Korea Investigators Request Arrest Warrant for Yoon Over Martial Law

(FILES) This handout photo taken on December 14, 2024 and released by the South Korean Presidential Office shows President Yoon Suk Yeol giving a public address from his official residence in Seoul. (Photo by Handout / South Korean Presidential Office / AFP)
(FILES) This handout photo taken on December 14, 2024 and released by the South Korean Presidential Office shows President Yoon Suk Yeol giving a public address from his official residence in Seoul. (Photo by Handout / South Korean Presidential Office / AFP)
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South Korea Investigators Request Arrest Warrant for Yoon Over Martial Law

(FILES) This handout photo taken on December 14, 2024 and released by the South Korean Presidential Office shows President Yoon Suk Yeol giving a public address from his official residence in Seoul. (Photo by Handout / South Korean Presidential Office / AFP)
(FILES) This handout photo taken on December 14, 2024 and released by the South Korean Presidential Office shows President Yoon Suk Yeol giving a public address from his official residence in Seoul. (Photo by Handout / South Korean Presidential Office / AFP)

South Korean investigators have sought an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol over this month's short-lived imposition of martial law, an official said on Monday, the first time an incumbent president has faced such action.
Yoon has failed to respond to summons for questioning by police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials who are jointly investigating whether his Dec. 3 martial-law declaration amounted to insurrection, Reuters reported.
Police have tried but failed to successfully raid the presidential office as part of the investigation.
A Seoul court will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant following the request.
Insurrection is one of the few charges for which a South Korean president does not have immunity.
Yoon Kab-keun, a lawyer for the suspended president, said the arrest request was "unfair" and the anti-corruption agency has no authority to do so.
"Emergency martial law is within the president's authority," the lawyer told reporters outside the Seoul Western District Court after submitting a written opinion about the arrest warrant request as well as a letter of appointment of lawyers.
Yoon was suspended from presidential powers after being impeached by parliament over his decision to briefly impose martial law.
Masked martial law troops equipped with rifles, body armor and night-vision equipment entered the parliament where they faced off with staffers who opposed them with fire extinguishers.
The decree lasted just hours until the parliament voted it down and Yoon backed down.
The move shocked the nation, which has been a democracy since the 1980s, caused international alarm amongst allies like the United States and trading partner's with Asia's 4th largest economy.
A Constitutional Court trial has commenced into whether to reinstate Yoon or remove him permanently from office. It has 180 days to reach a decision.
On Friday, the court held its first preparatory hearing where a request by Yoon's lawyers for a postponement in proceedings to better prepare was denied. The court said it would move swiftly.
The next hearing is due on Jan. 3.

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Strong Earthquake Kills at Least 126 People in Tibet

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
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Strong Earthquake Kills at Least 126 People in Tibet

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of an earthquake in Changsuo Township of Dingri in Xigaze, southwestern China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Xinhua via AP)

 A strong earthquake shook a high-altitude region of western China and areas of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses, littering streets with rubble and killing at least 126 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region.
Rescue workers climbed mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. Videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried on stretchers by workers treading over the debris from collapsed homes.
At least 188 people were injured in Tibet on the Chinese side of the border, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
More than 1,000 homes were damaged in the barren and sparsely populated region, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In video posted by the broadcaster, building debris littered streets and crushed cars.
According to The AP, people in northeastern Nepal strongly felt the earthquake, but there were no initial reports of injuries or damage, according to the country's National Emergency Operation Center. The area around Mount Everest, about 75 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the epicenter, was empty in the depth of winter when even some residents move away to escape the cold.
The quake woke up residents in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu — about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the epicenter — and sent them running into the streets.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). China's Earthquake Networks Center recorded the magnitude as 6.8. Shallow earthquakes often cause more damage.
The epicenter was in Tibet's Tingri county, where the India and Eurasia plates grind against each other and can cause earthquakes strong enough to change the heights of some of the world’s tallest peaks in the Himalayan mountains.
There have been 10 earthquakes of at least magnitude 6 in the area where Tuesday’s quake hit over the past century, the USGS said.
About 150 aftershocks were recorded in the nine hours after the earthquake, and the Mount Everest scenic area on the Chinese side was closed.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to rescue people, minimize casualties and resettle those whose homes were damaged. More than 3,000 rescuers were deployed, CCTV said.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was dispatched to the area to guide the work, and the government announced the allocation of 100 million yuan ($13.6 million) for disaster relief.
About 6,900 people live in three townships and 27 villages within 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of the epicenter on the Chinese side, state media said. The average altitude in the area is about 4,200 meters (13,800 feet), the Chinese earthquake center said in a social media post.
On the southwest edge of Kathmandu, a video showed water spilling out into the street from a pond in a courtyard with a small temple.
“It is a big earthquake," a woman can be heard saying. "People are all shaking.”