South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol became the first sitting president of that country to be arrested, ending a weeks-long standoff between investigators and his personal security.
Yoon, whose failed attempt to impose martial law plunged the country into turmoil and led to his impeachment in parliament, is under investigation on sedition charges.
He is, however, technically still president as the constitutional court must decide whether his impeachment is valid.
Investigators used ladders and wire cutters in the cold to reach Yoon, whose Presidential Security Service (PSS) personnel erected barricades in an attempt 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 will comply with the investigation being conducted against him even though he is against it.
He consistently argued that the warrant for his arrest was not legally valid.
Yoon said he witnessed authorities “attacking” the security perimeter of his home with firefighting equipment.
I have decided to appear before the CIO, even though it is an illegal investigation, to prevent any untoward bloodshed, he said.
More than 1,000 officers took part in the operation at dawn on Wednesday, which was the second time officers had tried to arrest him.
The CIO who previously investigated Yoon tried to arrest him on January 3.
They got the warrant after he ignored multiple calls to come for questioning.
Yoon’s People Power Party condemned his arrest as “illegal”, while club leader Kweon Seong-dong described Wednesday’s events as “deplorable”.
On the other hand, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Park Chan-dae, said that Yoon’s arrest shows that “justice is alive in South Korea.”
This arrest “is the first step towards the re-establishment of constitutional order, democracy and the rule of law,” he said during a party meeting.
The country is currently led by Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok as Acting President. He came to power after the first acting Han Duck-soo, was also recalled opposition majority parliament.
After Wednesday’s questioning, Yoon is expected to be detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, about 5 km (3 miles) from the CIO office.
However, if the court does not issue a detention order within 48 hours of Yoon’s arrest, he will be released and free to return to the presidential residence.
While the current president’s arrest is extraordinary for South Korean politics, the country’s political crisis is far from over. It is just another stage in the unfolding political drama.
The crowds outside Yoon’s home Wednesday morning underscored the country’s deep divisions.
The anti-Yoon crowd cheered, clapped and sang a song of “congratulations and celebration” upon the announcement of his arrest.
The atmosphere is completely different on the other side.
“We are very upset and angry – the rule of law has been broken,” a Yoon supporter told the BBC.
The standoff also pitted two branches of the executive branch against each other: law enforcement officers, armed with a legal arrest warrant, and presidential security personnel, who said it was their duty to protect the suspended president.
Even before he declared martial law, Yoon was reduced to a lame duck leader as the opposition party held a majority in parliament.
He also faced controversy surrounding his wife gets a Dior bag as a gift.
