SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – JANUARY 15: Investigators arrive at the entrance to the presidential residence of Yoon Suk Yeol, as authorities try to execute an arrest warrant, in Seoul, South Korea, on January 15, 2025.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Corruption Investigation for high-ranking officials, the first for a sitting South Korean leader.
This was the second attempt to arrest the impeached president, following a failed attempt on January 3 when South Korean Presidential Security Service agents prevented investigators from entering Yoon’s residence.
Unlike the first attempt, “this time there were no individuals or security guards actively obstructing the execution, nor were there significant physical confrontations,” the CIO said.
About 3,000 police officers were involved in a second attempt to secure access to Yoon’s compound, Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korean media too Yoon reported in a pre-recorded video said that “the law of the land has collapsed,” and called the CIO’s investigation “illegal.” Yoon said he would appear before the CIO to “prevent embarrassing bloodshed,” according to Google’s Korean translation of the report.
South Korean stocks had a muted reaction to the news, with the blue-chip Kospi rose by 0.21%, and small-cap Kosdaq by 0.44%.
The won weakened slightly against the US dollar, last trading at 1,459.75. The yield on South Korea’s benchmark 10-year bond also rose.
The CIO originally requested an arrest warrant after Yoon failed to appear for questioning, which he did approved on December 31 by the Seoul District Court. The warrant was then extended after it originally expired on January 6.
Yoon faces possible sedition charges after briefly declaring martial law on Dec. 3, a charge that is not subject to presidential immunity and carries the maximum penalty of death.
Yoon made a surprise late-night broadcast and declared a state of emergency last month, citing the need to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces” and “anti-state forces.” This was the first time a state of emergency had been declared in South Korea in more than 40 years.
Lawmakers then managed to get past police barricades and vote a declaration in the country’s parliament, before filing motions to impeach Yoon a few days later. Yoon was impeached on December 14 and suspended from office.
The Constitutional Court of South Korea is opened the impeachment process on Jan. 14 against Yoon, but postponed it to Jan. 16 after Yoon failed to appear.