SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – JANUARY 15: Investigators arrive at the entrance to the presidential residence of Yoon Suk Yeol, as authorities attempt to execute an arrest warrant, in Seoul, South Korea on January 15 2025.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has reportedly been arrested by the country’s Senior Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau, a first for a sitting South Korean leader.
It was the second attempt to arrest the deposed president, following a failed attempt on Jan. 3 when agents from South Korea’s presidential security service blocked investigators from entering Yoon’s residence.
About 3,000 police officers were involved in the second attempt to secure access to Yoon’s compound, Yonhap news agency said.
South Korean media also reported that Yoon, in a pre-recorded video, said the country’s “law had collapsed” and called the IOC investigation “illegal.” Yoon said he would appear before the IOC to “avoid unpleasant bloodshed,” according to a Google translation of the Korean reports.
South Korean stocks had a muted reaction to the news, with the blue-chip stock Kospi up 0.21% and small cap Kosdaq down 0.44%.
The won weakened slightly against the U.S. dollar and was last trading at 1,459.75. The yield on South Korea’s benchmark 10-year bonds also rose.
The IOC initially requested the arrest warrant after Yoon failed to appear for questioning, which was granted on Dec. 31 by a Seoul district court. The mandate was later extended after its initial expiration on January 6.
Yoon faces charges of insurrection after his failed declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, a charge that is not subject to presidential immunity and carries a maximum death penalty.
Yoon made a surprise late-night broadcast and declared martial law last month, citing the need to protect the country from “North Korean communist forces” and “anti-state forces.” It was the first time martial law had been declared in South Korea in more than 40 years.
Lawmakers then managed to break through police barricades and voted against the statement in the country’s parliament, before filing impeachment motions against Yoon days later. Yoon was impeached on December 14 and suspended from office.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court opened the impeachment trial against Yoon on January 14, but adjourned it until January 16 after Yoon failed to appear.
