South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was arrested at the presidential residence on Wednesday, becoming the first sitting president in the country’s history to be detained over his brief imposition of martial law.
A joint investigation team, including the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the National Office of Investigation (NOI), and the Ministry of Defense’s investigative unit, confirmed Yoon’s arrest at 10:33 a.m. local time (0133 GMT).
Television footage showed Yoon being transported in a black vehicle to the CIO office in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, before being taken to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, located just 5 km away.
The CIO now has 48 hours to decide whether to seek a separate detention warrant to hold Yoon for up to 20 days for further questioning or to release him.
Yoon’s arrest marks the first time in modern South Korean history that a sitting president has been detained. In a pre-recorded message, Yoon expressed strong disapproval of the arrest warrant, calling it illegal and executed by force, and stated that he accepted the situation to prevent potential bloodshed.
Despite being blocked for over two hours by Yoon’s supporters, lawyers, and lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party, investigators from the CIO and NOI successfully bypassed the presidential security service’s barriers. This followed a failed attempt to arrest Yoon on January 3, which had been thwarted by the security service.
A Seoul court had extended the arrest warrant on January 7 after an initial failed attempt to detain Yoon. The president had defied the CIO’s calls to voluntarily appear for questioning three times in December, leading to the warrant.
Yoon has admitted to declaring martial law on December 3, 2024, but it was quickly rescinded by the National Assembly. Investigators named him a suspected leader of an insurrection charge, and his approval rating plummeted.
On December 14, the National Assembly passed a motion for Yoon’s impeachment, sending it to the Constitutional Court for deliberation. The court’s ruling on the impeachment could take up to 180 days, during which Yoon’s powers are suspended.
The Constitutional Court held its first hearing in the impeachment case on January 13, rejecting Yoon’s request to exclude a new justice from the proceedings. The hearing lasted only about four minutes due to Yoon’s absence.
Two newly appointed justices joined the court earlier this month, potentially tipping the balance in favor of upholding the impeachment. To remove Yoon from office, at least six of the nine justices must support the impeachment.
The court has scheduled further hearings for January 16, 21, 23, and February 4.
