Investigators arrived at the Seoul residence of South Korea’s ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday in an effort to arrest the embattled leader.
Police vehicles and crowds of supporters of the ousted president were seen outside his home. Photos show protesters lying in front of the police, trying to block the authorities from the headquarters.
ABC News has confirmed that authorities broke into the front door of Yoon’s property. There are hundreds of agents on the scene.
Police officers control traffic in front of the official residence of South Korea’s acting president Yoon Suk Yeol as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court approved his arrest warrant on Tuesday, in Seoul, Jan. 3, 2025.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
The move to arrest Yoon comes after a South Korean court issued an arrest and search warrant on Dec. 30 for his short-lived martial law, ABC News confirmed.
Yoon Suk Yeol supporters gather outside the official residence of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on January 2, 2025 in Seoul.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Under the South Korean Constitution, if a sitting president is accused of rebellion, the police have the power to arrest him while he is still in office.
A joint investigation team sought the warrant on charges of sedition and abuse of power after Yoon said he failed three calls to appear for questioning.
The court’s decision to grant the order is a first for a president in the country’s history.
Immediately after the request, Yoon’s lawyers asked the court to decline, saying the headquarters “does not have the authority to investigate a riot” and declaring martial law was unconstitutional.
Yoon declared martial law in a televised speech on December 3. The president said the measure was necessary because of the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which has been accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and stalling the government.
The move sparked protests, and hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to ask the president to lift the martial law order. A majority of parliament — all 190 members present, out of the 300-person body — voted to suspend the decree, which was then required by South Korea’s constitution.
After the National Assembly’s vote, Yoon said he had withdrawn troops deployed to enforce martial law and “will lift martial law as soon as there is a quorum in the cabinet.” The Council of State then met to vote to officially remove it. The country’s Democratic Party has called on Yoon to resign over the “fundamentally invalid” martial law. Without Yoon resigning, the opposition party worked to launch impeachment proceedings against the president.
Yoon has been suspended from office since December 14, when the National Assembly voted 204-85 to impeach him.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Kate Lee and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
