South Korean authorities at president’s residence to execute arrest warrant

South Korean investigators have entered the presidential compound of the country’s impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol in a second attempt at arresting him over his short-lived martial law declaration.
In an operation that began before dawn on Wednesday, hundreds of law enforcement officials and investigators began arriving at Yoon’s hillside villa in Seoul, where he has been holed up for weeks.
Authorities have a court-ordered arrest warrant to detain Yoon for questioning over whether the martial law decree on December 3 amounted to insurrection, after he has refused to comply with multiple summons for questioning.
Police officers stand in front of the gate of the presidential residence of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, in the early hours of Wednesday.Credit: AP
If successful, Yoon will be the first sitting president arrested in South Korea’s history.
Police used ladders to climb over a barricade of buses set up by the Presidential Security Service (PSS), and could be seen moving up the hilly compound. Yoon had not been detained by mid-morning on Wednesday and it was not immediately how long the operation could take.
Yoon and his legal team have maintained the arrest attempt is illegal, and he has vowed to “fight to the end” to resist what he has called “anti-state forces” seeking to remove him from power.
The operation is being jointly carried out by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, or CIO, and police. Yonhap News Agency reported as many as 3000 police had been deployed to secure the compound.
Outside the presidential compound, more than 6000 Pro-Yoon supporters have amassed in the street protesting the arrest attempt, Yonhap said, adding to fears the volatile situation could turn violent. For weeks, thousands of anti-Yoon protesters have also rallied in streets, calling for the president to be arrested and removed from office.
As the situation unfolded, South Korea’s acting president Choi Sang-mok warned government authorities against using violence.