Yoon Suk Yeol becomes first South Korean sitting president to be arrested

South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol became the country’s first sitting president 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 was impeached by Parliament, is being investigated on charges of insurrection.

However, he is still technically the president, since a constitutional court has to decide whether his impeachment is valid.

Investigators used ladders and wire cutters in the bitter cold to reach Yoon, whose Presidential Security Service (PSS) personnel had set up barricades in an attempt to thwart his arrest.

The 64-year-old leader said he agreed to appear before the Senior Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) to avoid bloodshed.

In a three-minute video message, Yoon said he would comply with the investigation against him even though he was against it.

He has consistently maintained that the arrest warrant has no legal validity.

Yoon said he witnessed authorities “invading” the security perimeter of his home with fire equipment.

“I decided to appear before the CIO, even though this is an illegal investigation, to avoid any unpleasant bloodshed,” he said.

More than 1,000 officers were part of Wednesday’s dawn operation, which marked the second time officers attempted to arrest him.

The CIO who is investigating Yoon, previously tried to arrest him on January 3.

They had obtained the warrant after he ignored multiple subpoenas to appear for questioning.

Yoon’s People Power Party denounced his arrest as “illegal,” and MP leader Kweon Seong-dong described Wednesday’s events as “regrettable.”

On the other hand, the parliamentary leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Park Chan-dae, said that Yoon’s arrest shows that “justice in South Korea is alive.”

This arrest “is the first step towards the restoration 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 interim president, Han Duck-soo was also accused by the opposition-majority parliament.

After being questioned on Wednesday, Yoon is expected to be detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the CIO office.

However, if a court does not issue an arrest warrant within 48 hours of Yoon’s arrest, he will be released and allowed to return to the presidential residence.

While the arrest of a sitting president is notable for South Korean politics, the country’s political crisis is far from over. It’s just another phase of an unfolding political drama.

The crowd outside Yoon’s home on Wednesday morning highlighted the deep divisions in the country.

The anti-Yoon crowd cheered, clapped and sang a song of “congratulations and celebrations” at the announcement of his arrest.

On the other side the atmosphere is completely different.

“We are very upset and angry: the rule of law has collapsed,” a Yoon supporter told the BBC.

The standoff also pitted two branches of the executive branch: law enforcement officers, armed with a legal arrest warrant, and presidential security personnel, who said they had a duty to protect the suspended president.

Even before his declaration of martial law, Yoon had been reduced to an outgoing leader as the opposition party held a majority in parliament.

He has also faced controversy over his wife for receive a Dior bag as a gift.