Security personnel gather near buses parked to protect impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from a possible second arrest attempt, at the main entrance of his official residence in Seoul, South Korea, January 8, 2025.
Reuters | Kim Hong-Ji
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol was reportedly arrested by the country’s Corruption Investigation Office for High Ranking officials, a first for a sitting South Korean leader.
This was the second bid to arrest the impeached president, following a failed attempt on Jan.3 when agents from South Korea’s Presidential Security Service had blocked investigators from entering Yoon’s residence.
About 1,000 police officers were reportedly involved in the second attempt to execute the arrest warrant, almost 10 times more than the first attempt.
The CIO had initially requested the arrest warrant after Yoon failed to turn up for questioning, which was granted on Dec. 31 by a Seoul district court. The warrant was then extended after it initially expired on Jan. 6.
Yoon faces charges of insurrection after his failed declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, a charge which is not subject to presidential immunity and carries the death penalty at maximum.
On Dec. 3, Yoon had made a surprise late night broadcast and declared martial law, citing the need to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces” and “antistate forces.” This was the first time martial law had been declared in South Korea in over 40 years.
Lawmakers then managed to get past police barricades and voted down the declaration at the country’s parliament, before filing impeachment motions against Yoon a few days later. Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14 and suspended from office.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has
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