As the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Agency (CIO) and police executed a second arrest warrant for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 15, tensions peaked outside the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul, where pro-Yoon and anti-Yoon protesters gathered in significant numbers.
Approximately 8,700 pro-Yoon demonstrators, according to police estimates, rallied near Lutheran Church and Hannam Elementary School. Chanting slogans such as “We will fight alongside the president” and “Arrest Lee Jae-myung,” the crowd included individuals clashing with police attempting to manage the protests. A rally organizer urged participants to refrain from fighting officers, though some ignored the call. One protester, visibly emotional while reading reports that police had reached the presidential residence, said, “It’s over now. They’ve breached all barriers,” voice trembling.
As time passed, internal discord emerged among the pro-Yoon protesters. They were divided over the instructions to avoid fighting the police, with one side questioning why they should refrain from fighting and the other insisting that they must not. At 8:36 a.m., reports surfaced claiming that President Yoon might leave the residence. The protesters, seizing on the news, marched toward the residence and engaged in physical scuffles with the police attempting to block their advance.
Meanwhile, roughly 250 anti-Yoon protesters, as estimated by police, gathered near the Volvo Building by the entrance to the Hannam-dong residential area. Chanting demands for the immediate arrest of President Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee, they accused them of leading a coup and committing high-profile crimes. These demonstrators supported police efforts to control the scene, shouting at pro-Yoon protesters, “Do not obstruct the execution of the arrest warrant!” Some jeered lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party who had arrived at the scene.
“This is a historic moment,” one anti-Yoon protester said. “Once Yoon is arrested, we’ll never have to deal with him again.” Others shouted phrases like, “Send him straight to jail!” Enthusiasm surged as reports indicated that all three security cordons established by the Presidential Security Service had been breached. News that Presidential Security Service Vice Chief Kim Sung-hoon and Lee Kwang-woo had been detained further amplified the celebratory mood, with protesters clapping and cheering.
Police deployed 54 mobile units, totaling approximately 3,200 officers, to prevent potential violence between the opposing groups.
