South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol arrested after dramatic hours-long standoff
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South Korea’s anti-corruption agency says impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has been detained over his imposition of martial law last month. In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of an anti-corruption agency, Mr Yoon lamented that the “rule of law has completely collapsed in this country”, but said he was complying with the detention warrant to prevent clashes between law enforcement officials and the presidential security service.
![[South Korea Executes Warrant To Detain Impeached President Yoon]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/01/15/6/33/South-Korea-Executes-Warrant-To-Detain-Impeached-President-Yoon-7rmh1ogg.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
A series of black SUVs, some equipped with sirens, were seen leaving the presidential compound with police escorts. A vehicle apparently carrying the president later arrived at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials in the nearby city of Gwacheon.
Following the questioning, Mr Yoon was expected to be sent to a detention centre in Uiwang, near Seoul. He could be held in custody for weeks. The anti-corruption agency, which is leading a joint investigation with the police and the military over whether Mr Yoon’s martial law declaration amounted to an attempted rebellion, has 48 hours to request a court order for a formal arrest on a charge of attempting a rebellion.
If it fails to do so, the president will be released. If he is formally arrested, investigators can extend his detention to 20 days before transferring the case to public prosecutors for indictment. Mr Yoon was brought into custody about three hours after hundreds of law enforcement officers entered the residential compound in their second attempt to detain him over his imposition of martial law last month.
