South Korea’s President Has Been Arrested After He Failed To Attend His Impeachment Trial

South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested over accusations of insurrection after he attempted to impose martial law and plunged the country into chaos.

The arrest  on Wednesday, Jan. 15, came after Yoon failed to appear for the first hearing in his impeachment trial, according to Al Jazeera.

This makes Yoon the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.

Shortly before his arrest, Yoon made a public address to the nation, announcing his decision to appear before the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO).

“To prevent unsavory bloodshed, despite it being an illegal investigation, I decided to respond to the CIO (Corruption Investigation Office),” Yoon said in his address.

He added that this does not mean he is acknowledging the investigation and described his arrest warrant as illegal and invalid.

“Seeing this repeated illegality upon illegality being carried out, and the procedure being forcibly conducted based on an invalid warrant, I cannot help but feel truly appalled,” Yoon said.

Reuters reported that Yoon's lawyers said that the arrest warrant is illegal because it was issued by a court in the wrong jurisdiction.

Yoon did, however, comply with the arrest after more than 3,000 police officers marched to his home to arrest him in the early hours of Wednesday, according to Reuters.

This was the second attempt by investigators to arrest Yoon after the first ended in an hours-long standoff between authorities and Yoon's security team.

Yoon is now being held for questioning for 48 hours, after which authorities must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him, according to Reuters.

However, he has exercised his right to remain silent and refused to be filmed during the interview with investigators.

South Korean lawmakers voted to impeach Yoon after he attempted to impose martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, to eliminate what he called “anti-state forces”.

His declaration, the first martial law declaration in more than 40 years, sparked widespread protests across the country.

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