Yoon Suk-yeol became the first sitting president of South Korea to be arrested

South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol has become the country’s first sitting president to be arrested, ending a weeks-long standoff between investigators and his personal bodyguards.

Yoon, whose failed attempt to impose martial law plunged the country into chaos and led to his impeachment by parliament, is under investigation on charges of rebellion.

However, he is still technically president as the constitutional court must decide whether his impeachment is valid.

Investigators used ladders and wire cutters in the freezing cold to reach Yun, whose Presidential Security Service (PSS) officers had set up barricades to thwart his arrest.

The 64-year-old leader said he had agreed to appear before the Corruption Perceptions Office (CIO). to avoid bloodshed.

In a three-minute video message, Yoon said he would comply with the investigation against him, even if he was against it.

He has consistently argued that the warrant for his arrest has no legal force.

Yoon said he witnessed authorities “breaking into” the security perimeter of his home with fire equipment.

“I’ve decided to appear before the CIO, even if it’s an illegal investigation, to prevent any nasty bloodshed,” he said.

More than 1,000 officers took part in Wednesday morning’s operation, which was the second attempt to arrest him.

The IT director who investigated Yoon earlier tried to arrest him on January 3.

They obtained the warrant after he ignored multiple summonses to appear for questioning.

Yun’s People’s Power Party called his arrest “illegal,” while the group’s leader, Kwon Sung-dong, described Wednesday’s events as “deeply regrettable.”

On the other hand, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Park Chang-dae, said that Yoon’s arrest shows that “justice is alive in South Korea.”

This arrest “is the first step towards the restoration of constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law,” he said during the party meeting.

The country is currently led by Finance Minister Choi Sang Mok as Acting President. He was brought to power after the first V.A. Han Dak Soo was also impeached the parliament of the opposition majority.

Yoon is expected to be booked into the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwan, Gyeonggi Province, about 5 km (3 miles) from the CIO office, after being questioned on Wednesday.

However, if the court does not issue an arrest warrant within 48 hours of Yoon’s arrest, he will be released and able to return to the presidential residence.

Although the arrest of the current president is significant for South Korean politics, the political crisis in the country is far from over. This is just another stage in the unfolding political drama.

The crowd outside Yun’s home Wednesday morning underscored the country’s deep divisions.

The anti-Yoon crowd cheered, clapped and sang a “congratulations and cheers” song after his arrest was announced.

On the other hand, the atmosphere is completely different.

“We are very saddened and angry – the rule of law has been violated,” one of Yun’s supporters told the BBC.

The standoff also pitted the two branches of the executive branch against each other: law enforcement officers armed with legal arrest warrants and presidential security officers who said they had a duty to protect the ousted president.

Even before martial law was declared, Yoon was reduced to a lame duck leader as the opposition party held a majority in parliament.

He also faced controversy about his wife receive a Dior bag as a gift.