South Korean investigators arrest impeached President Yoon

SEOUL: South Korean authorities arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over insurrection accusations related to his Dec. 3 martial law declaration, investigators said.

A motorcade was seen leaving the gates of his hillside residence where Yoon has been holed up for weeks behind barbed wire barriers and a small army of personal security.

Earlier more than 3,000 police officers and anti-corruption investigators had gathered there before dawn, pushing through throngs of Yoon supporters and members of his ruling People Power Party protesting attempts to detain him.

Police officers and investigators of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials leave the official residence of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, following his arrest, in Seoul, South Korea, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Yoon's lawyers have argued attempts to detain Yoon are illegal and are designed to publicly humiliate him. The warrant investigators secured for his arrest is the first ever issued against an incumbent South Korean president.

As local news broadcasters reported that Yoon's detention may come soon, some minor scuffles broke out between tearful pro-Yoon protesters and police near the residence, according to a Reuters witness at the scene.

Yoon's declaration of martial law stunned South Koreans and plunged one of Asia's most vibrant democracies into an unprecedented period of political turmoil. Lawmakers voted to impeach him and remove him from duties on Dec. 14.

Separately, the Constitutional Court is deliberating over to uphold that impeachment and permanently remove him from office.