Officials and police officers break through the barricades to enter the presidential residence in Seoul on January 15, 2025 to execute the second arrest warrant for South Korean impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo by Yonhap/AFPSouth Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk-yeol, was detained on Wednesday by anti-corruption investigators over his brief imposition of martial law last month.
A series of vehicles with dark-tinted windows were seen leaving the gates of the hillside residence in Seoul, where Yoon had stayed, hidden for weeks behind barbed-wire barriers and a small army of personal security.
In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of the anti-corruption agency at around 10.30am, Yoon lamented that the “rule of law has completely collapsed in this country” but said he was complying with the arrest warrant “to prevent any unfortunate bloodshed” in potential clashes between law enforcement officials and the presidential security service.
“By arresting Yoon, investigators have removed a key barrier in their efforts to unravel the martial law fiasco,” South Korean analyst Jung Suk-koo told the South China Morning Post’s This Week in Asia. “This demonstrates that democracy in South Korea, while fragile, remains functional.”
An initial attempt to arrest Yoon on insurrection charges failed on January 3 after a tense stand-off with his presidential guards, who refused to budge when investigators tried to execute their warrant.
South Korea lifts martial law after dramatic night of political upheaval
Hours before Yoon’s detention on Wednesday, hundreds of police officers and the anti-corruption agency’s investigators stormed his residence. Television footage showed them using ladders to scale makeshift barricades formed of vehicles that supporters and the president’s security detail had strategically positioned to block access.
Police said they had deployed 3,200 officers to execute the court-ordered arrest warrant. Hundreds of officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) – which is leading the joint investigation into Yoon’s martial law bid – began arriving at his compound at 4am.
They were met by crowds of pro-Yoon protesters, some wrapped in foil blankets and others waving flags bearing “Stop the Steal” slogans referring to Yoon’s unproven election fraud claims – one of the reasons he gave to justify his short-lived martial law declaration on December 3.
“He declared martial law truly for the nation and the people,” said Jang Kyoung-sun, 64, a Yoon supporter who travelled from eastern Gangwon province to protest against his arrest on Wednesday.
Scuffles had earlier broken out when police forced their way through a crowd of protesters, including lawmakers and aides, blocking the access road to Yoon’s compound.
Members of the president’s personal security detail were seen patrolling the compound carrying backpacks rumoured to contain submachine guns and ammunition. Local media reports had earlier suggested that Yoon instructed his guards “not to hesitate” to use firearms against investigators.
But most of the agents “offered little resistance” in the end, an investigator told journalists on Wednesday. “There has been minimal violence,” he said.
The CIO has reportedly prepared more than 200 pages of questions for Yoon, focusing on his brief but controversial martial law decree.
The team executing the warrant – made up of CIO officials and police – secured a reissued warrant on January 7 and held multiple meetings in a bid to ensure its successful execution.
Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades after he directed soldiers to storm parliament in an unsuccessful attempt to stop lawmakers from voting down his move.
He was impeached on December 14 and suspended from office over his actions.
Yoon can be held for up to 48 hours on the existing warrant. The CIO now needs to request a court order for a formal arrest on a charge of attempting a rebellion, and if it fails to do so, Yoon will be released. If he is formally arrested, investigators can extend his detention to 20 days before transferring the case to public prosecutors for indictment.
South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party celebrated Yoon’s detention.
“The arrest of Yoon Suk-yeol is the first step towards restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law,” floor leader Park Chan-dae told the party in a meeting. “Although overdue, it is truly fortunate to confirm that public authority and justice in South Korea are still alive.”
But political scientist Lee Jun-han of Incheon National University cautioned that uncertainties persist.
Yoon, his legal team and his ruling People Power Party continue to argue that investigating insurrection charges goes beyond the CIO’s mandate.
“His video message, broadcast shortly before he was escorted to the CIO office, appeared to rally his supporters, urging them to intensify their opposition to the investigation,” Lee told This Week in Asia.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters