South Korea’s impeached President Yoon arrested, anti-corruption agency says

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech during a meeting for a national AI committee in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (Song Kyung-Seok/Pool Photo via AP)

SEOUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday, an anti-graft agency investigating his Dec. 3 martial law attempt said in a statement.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Earlier copy is below...

SEOUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - South Korean authorities investigating impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to enter his residence on Wednesday morning in a new bid to arrest him over insurrection accusations related to his Dec. 3 martial law declaration.

Video footage showed hundreds of police officers, some carrying ladders and wire cutters, marching up the road leading to his hillside villa, where Yoon has been holed up for weeks guarded by a small army of personal security.

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.

Police said they had deployed 3,200 officers to Yoon’s residence to execute the arrest on Wednesday, where hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters and members of his People Power Party had also gathered before dawn in sub-zero temperatures.

A police spokesperson denied an earlier report by Yonhap News Agency that it had arrested the acting head of Yoon’s presidential security service, which blocked a previous attempt to arrest the conservative leader on Jan. 3.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok called for calm in a statement on Wednesday, urging for the need to avoid physical contact between state agencies.

“I will sternly hold those responsible if unfortunate events occur,” he said.

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.

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

Separately, the Constitutional Court is deliberating over whether to uphold a vote by lawmakers to impeach Yoon and permanently remove him from office.

‘No place to run’

The latest arrest attempt gripped the nation with hundreds of thousands glued to South Korean broadcasters' live feeds on YouTube since before dawn.

Officers from the anti-corruption unit leading the investigation arrived near the residence at 4 a.m. (1900 GMT).

By then there already were hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters, some wrapped in foil blankets and others waving flags bearing “Stop the Steal” slogans referring to Yoon’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud - one of the reasons he gave to justify his short-lived martial law declaration.

“If the president is arrested, I will be heartbroken,” said Jang Kyoung-sun, 64, a Yoon supporter who had traveled from eastern Gangwon province to Seoul to protest his arrest.

“He declared martial law truly for the nation and the people.”

The opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in parliament after a landslide legislative election victory last year, issued a statement calling on Yoon to comply with the arrest.

“There is no place to run anymore,” the party said.

Cho Sun-ah, 51, was among another contingent of people rallying near his residence in support of authorities' attempts to arrest Yoon.

“I don’t think it is right for the leader of an insurrection to stick it out like that despite the issuance of an arrest warrant without facing any punishment. The law should be equal for everyone and this isn’t right even if it’s the president,” he said.

Yoon’s lawyers have said the arrest warrant is illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal mandate to do so.

The team executing the arrest warrant - made up of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the police - secured a re-issued warrant on Jan. 7 and has held multiple meetings with Yoon’s personal security in a bid to ensure a successful execution.

Oh Dong-woon, head of the CIO leading the investigation, has said authorities would do whatever it takes to bring Yoon into custody.