On Wednesday, a joint investigation team consisting of South Korea’s Police Emergency Martial Law Special Investigation Unit and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol. This marks the first time in South Korea’s constitutional history that a sitting president has been arrested. The arrest occurred 43 days after the declaration of martial law on December 3. The joint investigation team executed the arrest warrant for Yoon at 10:33 AM KST.
Yoon’s legal team initially claimed that the president would voluntarily appear for questioning, which delayed the execution of the arrest warrant. However, despite the claims, the joint investigation team eventually carried out the arrest.
Seok Dong Hyun, a lawyer supporting Yoon, posted on Facebook that the president had decided to appear in person at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) that day. He also announced that the president would address the nation directly around the time of Yoon’s departure as the CIO.
The CIO maintained that it would not entertain the possibility of a voluntary appearance and was focused on executing the arrest warrant. When asked whether Yoon could voluntarily appear, given that an arrest warrant had been issued, a CIO official dismissed the suggestion, saying, “We have never seen such a case.”
The CIO intends to conduct Yoon’s interrogation in a video-recording room on the third floor of Building 5 at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, located just outside Seoul.
A CIO official stated that the questions for Yoon’s investigation are more extensive than those for the first arrest warrant, reportedly exceeding 200 pages. During the execution of the arrest warrant, no physical confrontations were reported. The official added that prosecutors, including Chief Prosecutor Cha Jung Hyun, entered the residence without resistance. Unlike during the first warrant execution, no individuals blocked their path, no security personnel from the Presidential Security Service were present, and the situation remained largely peaceful.
The joint investigation team removed the barbed wire around the residence earlier that morning to conduct the arrest. They then used a ladder to scale the property’s wall, gaining access to the residence.