South Korean officials detain impeached President Yoon after weekslong standoff
Authorities successfully detained President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over his botched declaration of martial law, weeks after a first attempt ended in a dramatic standoff.
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean authorities detained President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday over his botched declaration of martial law, weeks after a first attempt ended in a dramatic standoff at the residence where he had been holed up since he was impeached.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), which is leading a joint investigation, said the arrest warrant was executed at 10:33 a.m. (8:33 p.m. Tuesday ET), hours after hundreds of police officers arrived at Yoon’s presidential compound in central Seoul.
Yoon, who was impeached last month after his short-lived martial law order plunged South Korea, a key U.S. ally, into political chaos, is South Korea’s first president to be arrested in office.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arriving at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials in Gwacheon on Wednesday.Yonhap/AFP via Getty Images“Unlike the first execution attempt, this time there were no individuals or security staff actively obstructing the execution, and there were no significant physical clashes,” the CIO said in a briefing.
In an address to the nation, Yoon said that the warrant was illegal but that he decided to comply “to prevent an unfortunate and bloody confrontation.”
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