President Yoon Suk Yeol

January 15, 2025 10:50 AM

What you need to know about the arrest of South Korea’s Yoon

South Korean investigators arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday for alleged insurrection over his bid to impose martial law, ending weeks of defiance and claims by Yoon and his lawyers that the arrest warrant was invalid. Yoon and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), which is probing his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3, are at odds over whether the CIO has the authority to arrest and pursue criminal charges against a president. Autho...

Police officers stand guard as people gather near the presidential residence to show support for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after the anti-corruption agency for high-ranking officials received a new court warrant to arrest Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, January 8, 2025. Photo by Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images/Files

January 15, 2025 4:30 PM

South Korean investigators question arrested President Yoon in insurrection probe

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested and questioned by authorities on Wednesday in relation to a criminal insurrection investigation, saying he was only cooperating with what he called an illegal probe to avoid violence. His arrest, the first ever for an incumbent South Korean president, is the latest head-spinning development for one of Asia's most vibrant democracies even though the country has a history of prosecuting and imprisoning former leaders. Since lawmakers vo...

January 6, 2025 12:36 PM

Blinken expresses confidence in South Korea democratic process as Yoon faces arrest

South Korean investigators will seek an extension of a warrant to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed confidence in the key Asian ally's handling of the political turmoil. Investigators probing Yoon over his Dec. 3 martial law on Friday again failed to serve an arrest warrant, blocked by presidential security service guards who formed a human chain to prevent access to Yoon. The arrest warrant, the first for a sitting presid...

January 6, 2025 9:11 AM

South Korean police asked to execute arrest warrant for impeached president

South Korea's anti-corruption agency said on Monday that it had asked police to take over the execution of an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. The request comes after a failed attempt to execute an arrest warrant on Friday following a tense stand-off with presidential guards who formed a human chain to block access by the investigators. A joint team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and police are probing allega...

January 3, 2025 10:51 AM

South Korean authorities fail to arrest impeached President Yoon due to security stand-off

South Korean authorities failed to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday over his martial law declaration, after evading a crowd of protesters outside his compound but coming to a standoff with presidential security forces inside. Yoon supporters gathered in the pre-dawn hours near the presidential residence, with the numbers swelling into the hundreds as they vowed to block any attempt to arrest Yoon. Officials from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (...

December 31, 2024 10:52 AM

South Korea court issues arrest warrant for President Yoon

A South Korean court on Tuesday approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been impeached and suspended from power over his decision to impose martial law on Dec. 3, investigating authorities said. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) confirmed the Seoul Western District Court approved the warrant requested by investigators examining Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law. This is the first arrest warrant issued for an incumbent presid...

December 19, 2024 3:02 PM

South Korea’s allies cheered Yoon’s foreign policy, ignored domestic discord

As South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's relations with the opposition broke down this year, Western diplomats hoped the internal tensions would not affect his tough stance on China and North Korea that had won praise from Washington. It didn't work. A focus on a foreign policy seen as favourable to the West, limited attention on the political discord in South Korea, and a hesitation to be seen interfering in domestic matters, left its partners blindsided when Yoon briefly imposed martial law...

December 17, 2024 5:42 PM

South Korean authorities fail to raid presidential office again, Yonhap says

South Korean investigators probing President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration failed to gain entry to his office to seek evidence on Tuesday after presidential office security staff denied them entry, Yonhap news agency reported. Yoon was impeached on Saturday over his martial law decree and suspended from his presidential duties. Yonhap said that investigators looking for evidence about the legality of Yoon's martial law decision waited for about seven hours to be let in, bu...

December 16, 2024 12:57 PM

South Korea court begins review of Yoon impeachment over martial law attempt

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Monday began reviewing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his Dec. 3 martial law attempt, starting a process to decide if he will be removed from office, while investigators plan to question him this week. The court will hold the first public hearing on Dec. 27, spokesperson Lee Jean told a news conference, after the court's six justices met to discuss plans for reviewing the impeachment by the opposition-controlled parliament on Saturday. The...

December 11, 2024 10:08 AM

South Korea police raid Yoon office over failed martial law as impeachment vote looms

South Korean police raided the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol, a presidential security official said on Wednesday, in a widening investigation into the embattled leader's failed attempt to impose martial law. Separately, Kim Yong-hyun, former defence minister and a close confidant of Yoon, attempted suicide at a detention centre where he is held after being arrested, a Justice Ministry official told a parliament hearing. A presidential security service official confirmed to Reuters that pol...