South Korean investigators have arrested the impeached President Yoon, bringing an end to a dramatic weeks-long standoff that captivated the nation.
According to Reuters, on Wednesday, the authorities apprehended President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was indicted on insurrection charges following his short declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024.
President Yoon has become the first current president in the history of South Korea to be detained.
As per reports, the ousted President was spotted departing his heavily secured residence in central Seoul in a convoy heading to the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) after a collaborative team of investigators and police announced that they had carried out the arrest warrant.
In response, the president’s lawyer stated that Yoon had chosen to cooperate with investigators and had decided to leave the residence to avoid any "serious incident."
The lawyer Seok Dong-hyeon shared on his Facebook account, "President Yoon has decided to personally appear at the Corruption Investigation Office today.”
Over 3,000 police officers and anti-corruption investigators assembled at his home early in the morning to disrupt the crowd of Yoon's supporters and party members from his ruling People Power Party.
The investigators said in a statement, "The Joint Investigation Headquarters executed an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol today (January 15) at 10:33 am (0130 GMT).”
For 48 hours Yoon was kept in custody on the existing warrant as the authorities would need to apply for another arrest warrant to be held in arrest.
