- Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s impeached president, was arrested on Wednesday.
- This was the South Korean authorities’ second attempt to arrest Yoon.
- Yoon was impeached on December 14 after he attempted to impose martial law, triggering protests.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested by investigators early on Wednesday morning, local time.
Yoon’s arrest comes after weeks of attempts by South Korean anti-corruption investigators to bring him in for questioning. This makes him the first sitting South Korean president to be detained.
Yoon has repeatedly defied attempts to arrest him. During a particularly tense standoff on January 3, investigators had to stand down after six hours when Yoon’s security team barred them from taking the president.
More than 3,000 police officers and anti-corruption investigators were involved in Yoon’s arrest on Wednesday morning, per Reuters.
South Korea’s Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said they had executed an arrest warrant for Yoon at 10.33 am local time, per a statement obtained by Yonhap News.
Yoon said in a statement on Wednesday that he had chosen to comply with the warrant “to prevent unsavory bloodshed,” according to a translation by Reuters.
Roughly 6,500 supporters were present outside Yoon’s presidential residence when he was arrested, per Yonhap News.
Yoon was impeached and stripped of his presidential powers on December 14. South Korean lawmakers voted to remove him from duties after a stunning declaration of martial law, which triggered large-scale protests and calls for his resignation.
South Korea’s nine-member Constitutional Court is set to rule on Yoon’s removal from office.
The trial, which must conclude within 180 days from the date of Yoon’s impeachment, could take months to resolve. If the court decides to remove Yoon from office, a presidential election must be held within 60 days.
Last month, South Korean lawmakers impeached the country’s acting president, Han Duck-soo, after he had refused to fill the Constitutional Court’s three vacancies.
Han, who was also South Korea’s prime minister, was replaced by the country’s finance minister, Choi Sang-mok. Choi said in December that he would move quickly to fill up the court’s vacancies.
There are currently eight justices on the court, after two new justices started their terms this month. Choi said he would appoint a ninth candidate after both the ruling and opposition parties come to an agreement on the nomination.
At least six votes are needed to remove Yoon.
