South Korea: President Yoon Suk Yeol arrested for declaring martial law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested after hundreds of police and anti-corruption officers gained access to his residence Wednesday, where he had been barricaded since the December imposition of controversial martial law.

The leader plunged the Asian democracy into a severe political crisis, perhaps the worst in decades, by suspending civil order and sending soldiers into the National Assembly on the night of Dec. 3. However, he repealed the measure hours later amid a furious backlash from civil society, the international community, opposition politicians and colleagues in his own party.

A parliamentary impeachment motion suspended Yoon, was also the subject of an insurrection investigation and the country's first president to be arrested during his term in office.

Hundreds of South Korean police and Corruption Investigation Bureau officers ran into Yoon's Seoul residence early Wednesday, protected by thousands of supporters and his loyal presidential guard who had prevented a first arrest on Jan. 3.

Blocked by security personnel, some agents scaled the compound's fences with ladders or used footpaths to reach the main building, located on top of a hill.

After hours of tension, the president's lawyer announced that he had finally decided to appear before investigators. Within minutes, the arrest was announced.

"The Joint Investigation Bureau executed an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol today at 10H33 (01H30 GMT)," this team formed by the Police, the anti-corruption agency and the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

In a pre-recorded video message, the South Korean president said he had decided to abide by the arrest order "to avoid any unfortunate bloodshed."

The president left the residence in a police convoy and entered the offices of the anti-corruption agency shortly afterward, AFP reported.

"First step"

In the first arrest attempt on Jan. 3, hundreds of armed members of Yoon's security services confronted investigators, who called off the arrest.

They had since stepped up security at the residence, installing barbed wire around the compound and blocking some access routes with bus barricades.

Before dawn Wednesday, tension had settled around the residence of the South Korean president who, despite his unpopularity, had a good entourage of loyal supporters ready to protect him.

AFP reporters observed scuffles and fisticuffs at the front gate of the residence, where investigators encountered Yoon's supporters, his staff and party deputies.

Some rallied supporters laid on the ground to prevent them from passing. Others waved South Korean and U.S. flags or shouted against the arrest warrant, which they consider "illegal."

Police and anti-corruption agents began chasing the supporters out of the area, and about 30 deputies from Yoon's party who also came to protect him, South Korean news agency Yonhap said.

Faced with the tense situation, police decided not to carry firearms and to limit themselves to wearing bulletproof vests in case of serious clashes with the presidential guard, local media said.

The current court order allows his detention for a maximum of 48 hours. Investigators would have to seek further authorization from the court to keep him in custody.

Yoon's legal team had argued throughout that the arrest warrant was illegal and that the anti-corruption bureau had no legitimacy to investigate him.

South Korea's main opposition, the Democratic Party, said that arrest was "the first step toward the restoration of constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law."

The president also faces a trial that began Tuesday in the Constitutional Court. The court must decide whether to ratify the impeachment motion passed by Parliament.