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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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President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol it is reported that he was arrested The Office of Corruption Investigation for high-ranking officials, a first for a sitting South Korean leader.
It was the second attempt to arrest the impeached president, after a failed attempt on Jan. 3 when agents of South Korea’s presidential security service prevented investigators from entering Yun’s residence.
About 3,000 police officers were deployed in a second attempt to secure access to Yun’s territory, Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korean media too Yoon said in a pre-recorded video said that “the law is broken in the country” and called the CIO’s investigation “illegal.” Yoon said he would appear before the CIO to “prevent unpleasant bloodshed,” according to Google’s Korean translation of the reports.
South Korean stocks reacted tepidly to this news, and they became the leaders Kospi rose 0.21%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.44%.
It weakened slightly against the US dollar and last traded at 1459.75. The yield on South Korea’s benchmark 10-year bond also rose.
The IT director initially requested an arrest warrant after Yoon failed to appear for questioning, which is what happened granted on December 31 by the Seoul District Court. The warrant was then extended after it originally expired on January 6.
Yun faces charges of rebellion after his failed declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, a charge that is not subject to presidential immunity and carries a maximum penalty of death.
Yun 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 bypass police barricades and reject the declaration in the country’s parliament before filing an impeachment motion against Yun a few days later. On December 14, Yoon was removed from his post.
The Constitutional Court of South Korea has the impeachment trial began on Jan. 14 against Yoon, but was postponed to Jan. 16 after Yoon failed to appear.
