Never before has a sitting president been arrested by the authorities in South Korea, writes the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Yoon Suk-Yeol himself says in a pre-recorded video that he chose to cooperate.
– To prevent unnecessary bloodshed, I have decided to appear before the anti-corruption unit, even if it is an illegal investigation, he says in the video.
Opposition leader Park Chan-Dae welcomes the announcement.
– It is the first step towards restoring constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law, he says according to Yonhap.
Six layers of barricades
Up to 1,000 police officers and investigators from the anti-corruption agency CIO brought arrest warrants and search warrants to Yoon Suk-Yeol’s haunt on Wednesday morning, local time.
Outside, they reportedly had to get through six layers of barricades outside the presidential palace set up by Yoon’s guards.
The suspended president offered to be voluntarily questioned by the security services but the offer was rejected, Yonhap reports. Instead, he was arrested after a seven-hour police operation.
About thirty of Yoon Suk-Yeol’s party colleagues, lawyers and thousands of supporters gathered outside the building during the crackdown.
The police and the security services have also previously tried to arrest Yoon Suk-Yeol, who was impeached in December, but failed.
Political chaos erupted
On December 3, 2024, political chaos erupted when President Yoon Suk-Yeol announced in a televised speech that a state of emergency and martial law would be imposed with immediate effect. The justification was that the opposition hindered the government’s work.
The military then stormed parliament, where they faced opposition from opposition politicians who later voted to dissolve the laws. Thousands of South Koreans protested in the streets at the same time.
The state of emergency lasted for just over six hours. On December 14, Yoon was impeached in a parliamentary impeachment vote. He had since been in the presidential palace, evading the arrest warrant issued against him.