Why did it take so long to arrest South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol?
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Yoon Suk Yeol becomes first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, six weeks after he declared martial law. South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol has finally been arrested and taken in for questioning, ending a stand-off lasting more than a month after his martial law declaration threw the country into a political crisis.
![[Protesters gather during a rally demanding South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to resign, in downtown Seoul, South Korea, on 28 December]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/07/09/South_Korea_Martial_Law_09133.jpg)
Anti-corruption authorities launched a pre-dawn operation on Wednesday at around 4.30 am to arrest Mr Yoon, which finally saw him taken into custody. A similar attempt ended in failure earlier this month despite law enforcement agents trying to reach Mr Yoon for nearly six hours.
![[People watch a TV screen showing the live broadcast of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s addressing the nation at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/04/01/06/South_Korea_Doctors_Protest_73392.jpg)
If found guilty of insurrection, Mr Yoon could receive a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The death sentence is technically also a possibility, although analysts deem that to be a highly unlikely outcome. Hundreds of Mr Yoon’s supporters have camped outside his residence to protest against his arrest for weeks, braving sub-zero temperatures.
![[Protesters wait for a rally demanding the arrest of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 6,]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/06/03/South_Korea_Martial_Law_36473.jpg)
Now that he is in the custody of anti-corruption agents, Mr Yoon’s legal process is expected to be closely watched both domestically and internationally, as a significant precedent for holding leaders accountable for alleged abuses of power while in office.
![[Protesters take part in a demonstration against impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol as they march on a street in Seoul on January 11]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/15/08/GettyImages-2192707084.jpg)
3 December 2024: Shortly before 10.30pm (1330 GMT), Mr Yoon stuns the country and the world by declaring on national television that he is imposing martial law to root out "anti-state forces" and overcome a political deadlock. An hour later, the military issues a decree banning activity by political parties and lawmakers, and troops and police descend on the opposition-controlled parliament.
