South Korean President Yoon has been detained for questioning in connection with martial law

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday became the first sitting South Korean leader to be detained for questioning by criminal investigators, reaching a deal with a large number of law enforcement officials and ending a week-long standoff over his declaration of a state of emergency that has plunged the country into political crisis.

Mr. Yoon’s bodyguards successfully prevented investigators from detaining him on January 3, when they first tried to serve a court order for his detention. Since then, the country has been gripped by fears that violent conflict could erupt if both sides refuse to back down.

But when investigators returned on Wednesday with many more police officers, some of them carrying ladders to climb the barricades, Mr. Yoon’s bodyguards offered no apparent resistance.

Mr. Yoon he will now face questioning by officials investigating his Dec. 3 declaration of emergency. Investigators can now question him for 48 hours, after which they could apply for a separate court order to formally arrest him.

In a video message published shortly after his detention, Mr. Yoon said he agreed to undergo questioning to prevent a “bloody” confrontation between his bodyguards and the police. But he called the investigation and the warrant for his detention illegal.

The opposition-led National Assembly tried to vote down Mr. Yoon’s emergency decree last month and has since accused him of sedition by sending armed troops into the Assembly to seize the legislature and jail his political enemies.

Simultaneously with the criminal investigation, the Constitutional Court of the country is considering whether the vote of the Assembly on December 14 on the impeachment of Mr. Yoon was legitimate and should he be officially removed from office.

Police buses began gathering before dawn on Wednesday in front of the presidential complex on the hill where Mr. Yoon hid from his recall. He was the first South Korean leader to put his country under military rule since the country began to democratize in the late 1980s.

Investigators and police gathered at the main gate of Mr. Yoon’s residence, carrying ladders to climb over the bus barricades blocking the road. They reached the entrance to Mr. Yoon’s residence, where they spoke with the president’s security guards and lawyers.

Around 8:30 a.m., Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer who serves as Mr. Yoon’s spokesman, announced on Facebook that the president had not yet been arrested and that his legal team was negotiating with investigators about the possibility of Mr. Yoon voluntarily submitting to questioning.

Investigators are poised to repeat the standoff that occurred on Jan. 3, when they first visited Mr. Yoon’s residence to serve an arrest warrant. They were then outnumbered by presidential security agents and had to fight an awkward retreat after a five-and-a-half-hour standoff.

On Wednesday morning, with lawyers Mr. To Yoon, lawmakers from his party and personnel from the Presidential Security Service standing outside the entrance to the compound, he and his supporters appeared to be preparing to resist another attempt to detain him. Live footage of the street leading to his property in the morning showed a tense standoff in sub-zero temperatures, with some pushing and physical fighting at one point.

Since the first attempt to detain Mr. Yoon, his security guards secured the compound by installing multiple buses and razor wire to block the doors and walls. Mr. Yoon vowed to “fight to the end” to return to office and said he would not surrender to a court order he considers illegal.

South Korea’s acting president, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, warned government agencies involved in the conflict against violence.

“All people and the international community are watching this,” he said in a statement. We cannot tolerate physical violence for any purpose because it will irreparably damage people’s trust and our international reputation.

The attempt to capture Mr. Yoon and force him to answer sedition charges is the first time in South Korea’s history that authorities have attempted to detain a sitting president. The unfolding events swept the country, with news and social media channels broadcasting live. There are fears of violent conflict if neither side backs down.

the day before, Constitutional Court began a hearing on whether to depose Mr. Yoon, who did not appear at the hearing. His lawyers said he feared investigators would detain him if he left his presidential compound.

During the last attempt to serve the warrant, the Presidential Security Service, the government agency tasked with protecting the president and his family, outnumbered the Corruption Investigations Office for Senior Officials, or CIO, which tried to arrest him with the help of police. He hired 200 bodyguards and soldiers to block 100 CIO agents and policemen.