Yoon declared martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3.
South Korean police detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence in Seoul on Wednesday local time, ABC News confirmed.
The detention comes weeks after investigators first attempted to arrest the embattled politician over his short-lived declaration of martial law in December.
Prosecutors from South Korea’s Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials entered Yoon’s residence, spokesperson Kim Baek-ki told reporters. The warrant was officially executed at 10:33 a.m.
Afterward, Yoon traveled in his own presidential security vehicle to the Corruption Investigation Office for questioning.
The president decided to appear in person at the office, “to avoid serious incidents between the Security Service and the police,” his lawyer Suk Dong-hyun said.
“With the high likelihood of a physical confrontation between the Security Service and the police, it is clear that a serious incident could arise,” Yoon’s lawyer said. “As president, President Yoon has resolved to prevent such a scenario, despite recognizing that the CIO’s investigation and attempted arrest are clearly unlawful.”
In a pre-recorded video message to the country, Yoon addressed the latest attempt to detain him.
“Unfortunately, the law has completely collapsed in this country,” he said. “Seeing warrants being issued by agencies that do not have investigative authority, and courts without warrant review authority issuing arrest warrants and search and seizure warrants, investigative agencies issuing false official documents to deceive the people, committing such illegal acts, and proceeding with procedures based on invalid warrants, I cannot help but feel regretful.”
Yoon said he was presenting himself to the CIO, but it was not an endorsement of what he called its illegal investigation, but instead “an effort to prevent unnecessary bloodshed as they attempted to enter my residence using force.”
There were a total of 3,000 police officers on the scene and thousands of protesters attempting to block the arrest, which was eventually called off.
The efforts to detain Yoon came after a South Korean court issued an arrest and search warrant on Dec. 31 over his short-lived imposition of martial law, ABC News confirmed at the time. Yoon has been suspended from his position since Dec. 14.
The former president declared martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3, saying the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.
Under South Korea’s constitution, if a sitting president is accused of insurrection, the police have the authority to arrest him while he is still in office.
A joint investigation team sought the initial warrant on insurrection and abuse of power charges after they said Yoon ignored three summonses to appear for questioning. The court’s decision to grant the warrant marked a first for a president in the country’s history.
