South Korea’s impeached president detained over martial law gambit
SEOUL — South Korean authorities detained impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol at his official residence Wednesday morning following a dramatic predawn police raid, taking him away for questioning on charges of insurrection.
Yoon, who was impeached last month after making a brief but botched attempt to impose martial law and exert political control, becomes the first South Korean president to be detained while still in office.
Prosecutors from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), which is leading the probe into Yoon’s Dec. 3 attempt to impose martial law, said they executed their warrant to arrest the president at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. A Seoul court issued the warrant after Yoon ignored three summonses to appear for questioning.
“I decided to cooperate with the summons order despite its illegality... this does not mean I view the warrant as valid,” Yoon said in a video message, saying said he had decided to surrender himself because of the potential for bloodshed as police and his presidential security service faced off.
Local television stations showed a convoy of cars leaving the presidential residence shortly afterwards, apparently heading to the CIO office where Yoon was set to be questioned. Prosecutors now have 48 hours to formally arrest him.
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