By Hyunsu Yim

SEOUL (Reuters) – A long period of uncertainty over the fate of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and a failed attempt to arrest him has given oxygen to his supporters and revived support for in his troubled party.

Yoon, suspended from office after his brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3 and under criminal investigation for possible insurrection, spent weeks holed up in his Seoul hilltop residence, which guarded by a small army of personal security personnel.

In a National Barometer Survey poll released Thursday, 59% of respondents wanted him arrested, something investigators are determined to do even though they failed last week after a widely televised six- time standoff with his security forces. About 37% said Yoon’s arrest was excessive.

A similar split fell in favor of the Constitutional Court, which is now considering lawmakers’ decision to impeach Yoon, permanently removing him.

Analysts say the prospects for Yoon’s return to office are unclear but the hiatus has galvanized his supporters, many of whom braved sub-zero temperatures to gather near his residence on Thursday morning. .

The weeks since Yoon’s impeachment have also seen a recovery in support for his ruling People Power Party (PPP), which some analysts say shows signs that conservatives are uniting to fight a possible election in presidency later this year.

YOON SUPPORTERS CHANGED THROUGH ARREST ATTENTS

“It seems that the attempt to arrest Yoon has re-energized the conservatives,” said Mason Richey, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul.

He said the revival comes from both Yoon’s die-hard supporters, who support his reasons for declaring martial law, including baseless allegations of election fraud, and those who are less supportive of Yoon. but worried about the prospect of Lee Jae-myung, the liberal leader of the main opposition party, becoming president.

“If the impeachment effort succeeds, these conservatives will lose a second time, after impeachment, and that change can be quickly extinguished. or that conservatives feel,” said Richey .

The Realmeter poll released on Monday put the PPP’s approval rating at 34.4%, up for the third week in a row. The main opposition Democratic Party, which commands a parliamentary majority and led the vote to impeach Yoon, got 45.2%.

Most South Korean pollsters have stopped tracking Yoon’s approval ratings since he was impeached by parliament, although some fringe polls have shown an increase in his personal support in recent days .

As he faces the possibility of another arrest attempt, his lawyers remain defiant, saying the anti-corruption officers seeking to arrest him do not have the authority to investigate him for insurrection. even if a court has issued a warrant.

YOON’S LAWYERS SAID HE WILL ACCEPT THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULING

Lawyers, however, told reporters Thursday that the Constitutional Court’s decision on Yoon’s political future is acceptable. Decisions by the court, one of the country’s two highest courts along with the Supreme Court, cannot be appealed.

“The president remains firm. He said he doesn’t want people to suffer and public officials to suffer, but he won’t accept illegal investigations,” lawyer Seok said. Dong-hyeon, Yoon’s confidant, to supporters outside his residence. on Wednesday.

Jeremy Chan, senior analyst covering Northeast Asia at the Eurasia Group, a US-based political risk consultancy, said further attempts to arrest Yoon would likely “intensify” support for him and his party.

Yoon’s supporters have also drawn inspiration from US President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously made baseless claims of election fraud and faced a litany of legal troubles but has made one a remarkable return to an election last year.

Some of Yoon’s supporters have adopted the “Stop the Steal” slogan popularized by Trump supporters to fuel allegations of fraud against the election watchdog. Trump has not commented directly on Yoon’s situation.

Lee Jun-han, professor of political science at Incheon National University, said conservative voters were more likely to be driven by the memory of the conservatives’ heavy electoral defeat following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye in 2017. .