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By Maya Mehrara
News Reporter
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South Korea reportedly deployed 3,000 police officers to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday after his recent impeachment.
Yoon is the first incumbent South Korean president to be arrested, and he is being investigated by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) over his short-lived declaration of martial law in early December.
Newsweek reached out to the South Korean embassy in the U.K. for comment via email.
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Why It Matters
The nature of Yoon's arrest by South Korean investigators is significant because the presence of that many police officers shows just how serious the political turmoil in the country is, even after the president's impeachment.
Moreover, the lengths to which the police officers went to arrest him indicate that no one is above the law in South Korea, including those in high-ranking positions of power.
What to Know
The president was arrested and he was taken to the investigator's office. Seoul's police now have 48 hours to question Yoon after which they must obtain a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him.
In order to get the president into custody, Seoul investigators scaled barricades and cut through barbed wire to reach his residence, as reported by BBC News. In addition to the police who cut barbed wire and overcame barricades, 1,000 officers scaled walls and hiked up nearby trails to reach his residence. Both Yoon's supporters and protesters were gathered outside of his residence when the arrest occurred.
Yoon, 64, was reportedly questioned for two and a half hours by CIO investigators at their headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, after his arrest in the morning, according to South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency. The president's arrest came after CIO investigators tried to arrest him on January 3, but were unable to due to a six-hour standoff with his security detail.
Yoon previously said that he would "fight to the end" prior to his arrest.
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The president is facing charges of insurrection and abuse of power after his impeachment, following his declaration of martial law on December 3, which caused the country to enter into a sociopolitical crisis. He said he was attempting to thwart "anti-state" activities by the opposition parties in the National Assembly, as they were preparing to vote.
South Korea's National Assembly impeached Yoon on December 14, and the country's Constitutional Court is deciding whether to uphold the impeachment and remove him from office or to dismiss the charges and restore his authority.
Yoon's legal team pushed back against his arrest and said it is illegal because it was allegedly issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction and the team set up to investigate him had no legal mandate to do so. South Korean lawmakers have also announced a new bill in an effort to independently investigate the president's martial law declaration.
What People Are Saying
Regarding his arrest, Yoon said, according to Reuters: "I decided to respond to the CIO's investigation - despite it being an illegal investigation - to prevent unsavoury bloodshed."
Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer and Yoon's friend, told reporters: "It's highly likely he will be kept in custody due to the CIO's cruel execution of detention, but I think he will attend (the trial) without being intimidated."
Regarding Yoon's arrest, Representative Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said: "(It) is the first step to restoring the constitutional order and democracy, and upholding the rule of law."
In a post on X, Hyunsu Yim, a correspondent for Reuters, wrote: "I'm outside the presidential residence in Seoul and there's radio silence among Yoon supporters following the arrest of Yoon while a small number of anti-Yoon protesters briefly played Girls' Generation's "Into The New World."
What Happens Next
If CIO investigators can obtain a new warrant, they can detain Yoon for up to 20 more days. However, if they are unable to do so, he must be released in two days, and it remains to be seen what consequences he would face in that event.
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